Gas Boycotts: Can They Reduce Prices?

The average price for a gallon of regular gas has shot up another 15 cents over the last two weeks. It's now $3.62 a gallon, a new record. When gas prices go up, our email boxes fill up with notes suggesting "gas outs," boycotts on buying gas to try to drive prices down. Do they really work? We take a look in this Seven On Your Side Consumer Watch.

When gas prices start climbing, drivers start looking for ways to fight back.

Chain letter emails hit your mailbox, encouraging gas outs. We received one that says "don't pump gas on May 15th," hoping to drive down demand and force oil companies to lower prices.

We asked drivers what they thought of the idea. Said Drew Stafford, "It would probably shake things up.  It would make them think about it, definitely."

And Joanna Gray reacted, "I guess if everybody did it, then it could do something."

But can a gas out really work? We asked USC Upstate Economics Professor Chuck Reback. Said Reback, "No it makes absolutely no sense. If you simply shift your purchasing, your buying of gasoline from one day to another, it's going to have no effect on the overall price."

He says companies will still make the same revenue for the week because consumers will still buy the gas sooner or later.

The idea of a gas boycott has been hitting mail boxes since 1999 and most articles on the matter we found say they have never caused a real dent in the price of gas.

But now there's a new twist. One email suggests boycotting one oil company, such as Exxon Mobile, not just one day, but everyday. Reback says in theory it could force the company to lower prices, but he says they wouldn't last. Said Reback, "I think the minute their price is lower than the other companies, people are going to start flocking to the company that's being boycotted because they'll have cheaper gasoline, and the whole thing will fall apart."

He says that company could then start increasing their prices again. And Reback explains other companies might lower their prices temporarily, but says they'd all eventually rise back up. Further, he adds, "Everybody would have to buy into the scenario, or at least a large number people" which would be difficult to accomplish."

Reback says the only way consumers can truly drive down the price of gas is to start driving on gasoline less.

Here are some tips you may not have thought of that can help you save gas, according to the Department of Energy. If you avoid speeding and aggressive driving, it can reduce your gas consumption by 5% to 33%. Replacing your air filter can save you 10%. And switching from a car that gets 20 miles per gallon to 30 miles per gallon can save you nearly $900 a year in gas.