6 ms·

http://www.filld.com/ http://www.filld.com/

spapas82 9y ago
There are more similar start ups: http://www.wefuel.com http://www.wefuel.com
sillysaurus3 9y ago
Filld customers pay the lowest price of the three gas stations closest to their location plus a small delivery fee. For example, if the three gas stations closest to you charge $2.62, $2.55 and $2.67 per gallon, you will pay $2.55. We purchase this pricing data from the Oil Price Indexing Service (OPIS), and we update it regularly. How do they make money? I wonder how high the delivery fee is.
- pdelbarba 9y ago
  They're not paying the gas station price. They're likely paying bulk prices then just using the local prices as your price. Edit: $3 for delivery generally and they're using F250 trucks. Call it 1.5t in the bed or about 400 gallons plus tank. They probably have a contract with the local bulk terminal so if you're paying 2.55, they might be paying 30% (no idea what this margin is) less or so. @400 us-gal if they make 30% on the gas plus $3 per 15gal tank, revenue would be in the $380/load range for an average of 26 tanks of gas per load. Edit2: regarding the loss leader strategy, they still have to truck the gas to the station which adds overhead. By going direct to customer (again, assuming they're loading at the bulk terminal) they remove a couple middlemen who's position they then take.
  - sillysaurus3 9y ago
    Could anyone run the numbers on whether this model is profitable, or whether it's another "use VC money to acquire users" type deal? EDIT: Looks like they pay anywhere from $18/hr to $22/hr for their delivery people: https://www.comeet.co/jobs/filld/42.00E https://www.comeet.co/jobs/filld/42.00E Also health, dental, and vision benefits + PTO, FSA, and free lunches. Wow.
    - pdelbarba 9y ago
      Just did, check my comment above
      - deelowe 9y ago
        There's a lot of speculation in your comment about things that are critical: The price they pay for gas and distribution costs.
        pdelbarba 9y ago
        Yea, based on the eia data it should all be ballpark but the calculation is there mostly just to serve as an example. You could shave a little off gas-per-fillup in retrospect because very few people will use 15gal exactly and few new car gas tanks are over 15gal but the $3 service charge balances that out somewhat. Based on the map on their site, it looks like their margins might be slimmer than what I calculated but they succeed by having a lot of customers in a very small area that they serve.
      - usrusr 9y ago
        I don't think that "(no idea what the margin is)" is what OP meant by running the numbers. Mostly a "pamper early adopters with VC money" operation I think, possibly with a profitability story (that may or may not turn out to be realistic) centered around high real estate value areas: in those places where the ground occupied by a gas pump and its accompanying infrastructure plays a significant role in the local fuel price, using public rights of way for mobile pumps is effectively a value transfer from the public to the pump operator. Back during the original dotcom, when all anybody could think of was basically a mailorder shop with a website, I joked with friends how a "fuel.com" could be a great parody of contemporary startups and/or a fine participant in the hype wave. I still think that sending pickup trucks to fill individual cars is stupid, but it's leaps and bounds less stupid than "mailorder fuel" would have been. A nice illustration of the difference between the current breed of VC money sinks and the dotcoms of old.
        pdelbarba 9y ago
  - nilkn 9y ago
    Gas is actually a loss leader at many/most gas stations. My parents owned a gas station about 10 years ago and one of the reasons they sold it and got out of that business was because competition was so fierce that they had to sell gas at or below the bulk price they paid for it. In other words, they effectively lost a few pennies every time someone bought gas. All profit came from in-store sales of other items.
    - joatmon-snoo 9y ago
      Where in (presumably) the US was this?
      - adventured 9y ago
        The parent's story is essentially universal in the US and has been for decades. Almost no convenience stores make money on gasoline, unless they're operating a special setup (the convenience store chain Sheetz for example has tried to build out their own gasoline business to cure this problem). There are a few routine exceptions, usually involving either some kind of rare location (eg right outside an airport exit, usually operating under a special arrangement), or a rare event (something that causes gasoline to be in unusual demand / limited supply).
        refurb 9y ago
        When I did the books for a gas station in Canada it was similar. This was a franchise location as well, so they had the parent company buying gas for them. Profit on gas was measured in cents per liter, with premium giving the best margins. And by best I mean $0.023/L or $0.087/gal.
    - mindslight 9y ago
      "Bulk price" at a terminal and the true cost of delivering it to the station are going to differ.
    - unclebucknasty 9y ago
      >Gas is actually a loss leader...all profit came from in-store sales That and the increasing prevalence of electric cars, Uber, and other shifts are why the gas-delivery model will likely be unsuccessful over any reasonable duration. The idea seems to be moving in the opposite direction as the rest of the world.
  - dyim 9y ago
    30% doesn't sound crazy, based on this first-order-approximative data: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMA_EPM0_PWG_NUS_DPG&f=M https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=E...
    - Retric 9y ago
      That ignores taxes which make up ~30% of retail price depending on the price of oil at the time. Further, gas stations generally need to pay quite a bit to get gas shipped to them as it's heavy (12 gallons is over 75 pounds), dangerous, and often very far away. So, cost at the refinery is very misleading.
- nbclark 9y ago
  It says the delivery fee is typically $3. Not sure how they make money...
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    lots of small deliveries
    - catmanjan 9y ago
      Even so, they have to pay their own fuel costs...
      - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
        I meant number of vehicles per physical location. Delivering to a bunch of vehicles on one street or hitting a bunch of vehicles in one lot/garage is better than one fill per location. It seems like they shouldn't be targeting consumers except as a means to target small businesses and municipal fleets. Modern fuel pumps are slow compared to the old ones. (Seriously, if you stop at a gas station with the old style pumps it'll blow your mind how fast they are.) Sending someone to put 20gal in a van takes at least 20min assuming a few minutes driving. @ $9/hr that's the same labor cost as a $3 fee. Paying these people to come to you and fill your fleet of vans costs the same but is more convenient and ensures you get the lowest local price.
        0xffff2 9y ago
        >Delivering to a bunch of vehicles on one street or hitting a bunch of vehicles in one lot/garage is better than one fill per location. They say that they will deliver to a single area for a single fee. http://www.filld.com/groups/ http://www.filld.com/groups/
        baybal2 9y ago
        Some do intentionally limit the pump power to make refills take longer and increase chance of you buying overpriced snacks on the station
- schnevets 9y ago
  Manhattan no longer has gas stations south of 12th street, and yet people pay > $400 for a parking space. This sounds like an ideal starting point for a burgeoning delivery service.
  - jessriedel 9y ago
    Ha, this is how I find out they demolished that station at Houston & Lafayette.
- LeifCarrotson 9y ago
  > Delivery fees are typically $3.
wand3r 9y ago
www.tesla.com
Animats 9y ago
Much better than the previous entrant. These people have their trucks placarded ("1203") and run their people through the training required for fuel truck drivers. You really don't want Uber-level drivers driving fuel trucks.
- criddell 9y ago
  > You really don't want Uber-level drivers driving fuel trucks. I bet if it were three cents per fill up cheaper, people would choose Uber-level drivers.
  - toomuchtodo 9y ago
    Hence, regulation! Fire marshalls have teeth.
    - criddell 9y ago
      Given Uber's history, I would guess they would find out where everybody associated with the fire department, police department, county, and state regulators live and then block any deliveries to them or their neighbors. Fire Marshalls have to catch you before they can use their teeth.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
rubicon33 9y ago
I swear business materialize out of thin air, when someone literally just thinks of them. How else can you explain that it seems like EVERY idea already has an app + business!
- stephengillie 9y ago
  It's all been done; everything that is new is old already. Our culture-space has been mined dry.
- avs733 9y ago
  quantum startups.
vanadium 9y ago
Yeah, this was on NPR Marketplace the other day. First I'd heard of it.
losteverything 9y ago
This would be a hit in NJ where you can't pump your own gas
_e 9y ago
Did anyone else read this as fill daemon?
komali2 9y ago
These guys are going to war with mountain view city council as soon as it wakes up. Seems like once a week someone on the council is saying they're gonna "do something" about the private drivers with loads of fuel in the back of their truck, or the fact that airbnb isn't getting taxed. What "something" means and why "something" needs to be done has yet to be clarified.
bolasanibk 9y ago
And https://www.trybooster.com/ https://www.trybooster.com/
just4themoney 9y ago
This actually is kind of an "obvious" idea once you think about it considering that this is exactly what my oil company does. They monitor my oil tank and come fill it when its about half empty and leave the bill on the door and you can optionally keep a credit card on file for autopay if you want. The convenience factor is really on point, I no longer think about oil at all, its always taken care of.
- randlet 9y ago
  The company I work for does this :) We use cellular & network connections to do remote monitoring of tanks. It can be very valuable service for fuel delivery companies, since they can fill up on an as needed basis rather than driving out to a location only to find they only need to top up 5% of the tank.
- tonyedgecombe 9y ago
  >I no longer think about oil at all Which is what they want, or rather they don't want you thinking about phoning round for the best price.
  - just4themoney 9y ago
    I did that for years (called around) and potentially paying a small markup is totally worth the price of not having to think about oil. Plus, they gave me $150 off for signing up.

There are more similar start ups: http://www.wefuel.com http://www.wefuel.com

Filld customers pay the lowest price of the three gas stations closest to their location plus a small delivery fee. For example, if the three gas stations closest to you charge $2.62, $2.55 and $2.67 per gallon, you will pay $2.55. We purchase this pricing data from the Oil Price Indexing Service (OPIS), and we update it regularly. How do they make money? I wonder how high the delivery fee is.

pdelbarba 9y ago
They're not paying the gas station price. They're likely paying bulk prices then just using the local prices as your price. Edit: $3 for delivery generally and they're using F250 trucks. Call it 1.5t in the bed or about 400 gallons plus tank. They probably have a contract with the local bulk terminal so if you're paying 2.55, they might be paying 30% (no idea what this margin is) less or so. @400 us-gal if they make 30% on the gas plus $3 per 15gal tank, revenue would be in the $380/load range for an average of 26 tanks of gas per load. Edit2: regarding the loss leader strategy, they still have to truck the gas to the station which adds overhead. By going direct to customer (again, assuming they're loading at the bulk terminal) they remove a couple middlemen who's position they then take.
- sillysaurus3 9y ago
  Could anyone run the numbers on whether this model is profitable, or whether it's another "use VC money to acquire users" type deal? EDIT: Looks like they pay anywhere from $18/hr to $22/hr for their delivery people: https://www.comeet.co/jobs/filld/42.00E https://www.comeet.co/jobs/filld/42.00E Also health, dental, and vision benefits + PTO, FSA, and free lunches. Wow.
  - pdelbarba 9y ago
    Just did, check my comment above
    - deelowe 9y ago
      There's a lot of speculation in your comment about things that are critical: The price they pay for gas and distribution costs.
      - pdelbarba 9y ago
        Yea, based on the eia data it should all be ballpark but the calculation is there mostly just to serve as an example. You could shave a little off gas-per-fillup in retrospect because very few people will use 15gal exactly and few new car gas tanks are over 15gal but the $3 service charge balances that out somewhat. Based on the map on their site, it looks like their margins might be slimmer than what I calculated but they succeed by having a lot of customers in a very small area that they serve.
    - usrusr 9y ago
      I don't think that "(no idea what the margin is)" is what OP meant by running the numbers. Mostly a "pamper early adopters with VC money" operation I think, possibly with a profitability story (that may or may not turn out to be realistic) centered around high real estate value areas: in those places where the ground occupied by a gas pump and its accompanying infrastructure plays a significant role in the local fuel price, using public rights of way for mobile pumps is effectively a value transfer from the public to the pump operator. Back during the original dotcom, when all anybody could think of was basically a mailorder shop with a website, I joked with friends how a "fuel.com" could be a great parody of contemporary startups and/or a fine participant in the hype wave. I still think that sending pickup trucks to fill individual cars is stupid, but it's leaps and bounds less stupid than "mailorder fuel" would have been. A nice illustration of the difference between the current breed of VC money sinks and the dotcoms of old.
      - pdelbarba 9y ago
- nilkn 9y ago
  Gas is actually a loss leader at many/most gas stations. My parents owned a gas station about 10 years ago and one of the reasons they sold it and got out of that business was because competition was so fierce that they had to sell gas at or below the bulk price they paid for it. In other words, they effectively lost a few pennies every time someone bought gas. All profit came from in-store sales of other items.
  - joatmon-snoo 9y ago
    Where in (presumably) the US was this?
    - adventured 9y ago
      The parent's story is essentially universal in the US and has been for decades. Almost no convenience stores make money on gasoline, unless they're operating a special setup (the convenience store chain Sheetz for example has tried to build out their own gasoline business to cure this problem). There are a few routine exceptions, usually involving either some kind of rare location (eg right outside an airport exit, usually operating under a special arrangement), or a rare event (something that causes gasoline to be in unusual demand / limited supply).
      - refurb 9y ago
        When I did the books for a gas station in Canada it was similar. This was a franchise location as well, so they had the parent company buying gas for them. Profit on gas was measured in cents per liter, with premium giving the best margins. And by best I mean $0.023/L or $0.087/gal.
  - mindslight 9y ago
    "Bulk price" at a terminal and the true cost of delivering it to the station are going to differ.
  - unclebucknasty 9y ago
    >Gas is actually a loss leader...all profit came from in-store sales That and the increasing prevalence of electric cars, Uber, and other shifts are why the gas-delivery model will likely be unsuccessful over any reasonable duration. The idea seems to be moving in the opposite direction as the rest of the world.
- dyim 9y ago
  30% doesn't sound crazy, based on this first-order-approximative data: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=EMA_EPM0_PWG_NUS_DPG&f=M https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=E...
  - Retric 9y ago
    That ignores taxes which make up ~30% of retail price depending on the price of oil at the time. Further, gas stations generally need to pay quite a bit to get gas shipped to them as it's heavy (12 gallons is over 75 pounds), dangerous, and often very far away. So, cost at the refinery is very misleading.
nbclark 9y ago
It says the delivery fee is typically $3. Not sure how they make money...
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  lots of small deliveries
  - catmanjan 9y ago
    Even so, they have to pay their own fuel costs...
    - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
      I meant number of vehicles per physical location. Delivering to a bunch of vehicles on one street or hitting a bunch of vehicles in one lot/garage is better than one fill per location. It seems like they shouldn't be targeting consumers except as a means to target small businesses and municipal fleets. Modern fuel pumps are slow compared to the old ones. (Seriously, if you stop at a gas station with the old style pumps it'll blow your mind how fast they are.) Sending someone to put 20gal in a van takes at least 20min assuming a few minutes driving. @ $9/hr that's the same labor cost as a $3 fee. Paying these people to come to you and fill your fleet of vans costs the same but is more convenient and ensures you get the lowest local price.
      - 0xffff2 9y ago
        >Delivering to a bunch of vehicles on one street or hitting a bunch of vehicles in one lot/garage is better than one fill per location. They say that they will deliver to a single area for a single fee. http://www.filld.com/groups/ http://www.filld.com/groups/
      - baybal2 9y ago
        Some do intentionally limit the pump power to make refills take longer and increase chance of you buying overpriced snacks on the station
schnevets 9y ago
Manhattan no longer has gas stations south of 12th street, and yet people pay > $400 for a parking space. This sounds like an ideal starting point for a burgeoning delivery service.
- jessriedel 9y ago
  Ha, this is how I find out they demolished that station at Houston & Lafayette.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
> Delivery fees are typically $3.

wand3r 9y ago

www.tesla.com

Animats 9y ago

Much better than the previous entrant. These people have their trucks placarded ("1203") and run their people through the training required for fuel truck drivers. You really don't want Uber-level drivers driving fuel trucks.

criddell 9y ago
> You really don't want Uber-level drivers driving fuel trucks. I bet if it were three cents per fill up cheaper, people would choose Uber-level drivers.
- toomuchtodo 9y ago
  Hence, regulation! Fire marshalls have teeth.
  - criddell 9y ago
    Given Uber's history, I would guess they would find out where everybody associated with the fire department, police department, county, and state regulators live and then block any deliveries to them or their neighbors. Fire Marshalls have to catch you before they can use their teeth.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]

rubicon33 9y ago

I swear business materialize out of thin air, when someone literally just thinks of them. How else can you explain that it seems like EVERY idea already has an app + business!

stephengillie 9y ago
It's all been done; everything that is new is old already. Our culture-space has been mined dry.
avs733 9y ago
quantum startups.

vanadium 9y ago

Yeah, this was on NPR Marketplace the other day. First I'd heard of it.

losteverything 9y ago

This would be a hit in NJ where you can't pump your own gas

_e 9y ago

Did anyone else read this as fill daemon?

komali2 9y ago

These guys are going to war with mountain view city council as soon as it wakes up. Seems like once a week someone on the council is saying they're gonna "do something" about the private drivers with loads of fuel in the back of their truck, or the fact that airbnb isn't getting taxed. What "something" means and why "something" needs to be done has yet to be clarified.

bolasanibk 9y ago

And https://www.trybooster.com/ https://www.trybooster.com/

just4themoney 9y ago

This actually is kind of an "obvious" idea once you think about it considering that this is exactly what my oil company does. They monitor my oil tank and come fill it when its about half empty and leave the bill on the door and you can optionally keep a credit card on file for autopay if you want. The convenience factor is really on point, I no longer think about oil at all, its always taken care of.

randlet 9y ago
The company I work for does this :) We use cellular & network connections to do remote monitoring of tanks. It can be very valuable service for fuel delivery companies, since they can fill up on an as needed basis rather than driving out to a location only to find they only need to top up 5% of the tank.
tonyedgecombe 9y ago
>I no longer think about oil at all Which is what they want, or rather they don't want you thinking about phoning round for the best price.
- just4themoney 9y ago
  I did that for years (called around) and potentially paying a small markup is totally worth the price of not having to think about oil. Plus, they gave me $150 off for signing up.