Customers often ask why our per-gallon price changes from one day to the next, and why two oil companies in the same county might post different rates on the same day. Here is the honest, simplified version.
The wholesale market
Home heating oil and on-road diesel are very similar products and trade on global commodity markets. The wholesale price — what a delivery company pays the terminal to fill the truck — moves daily based on crude oil prices, refinery output, regional inventory, weather forecasts, and pipeline logistics.
A delivery company's retail price has to start from that wholesale number and add the cost of getting the oil from the terminal to your tank.
Costs between the terminal and your tank
Trucks, fuel for those trucks, insurance, drivers, dispatch, office staff, billing, software, and credit card processing fees all sit between the wholesale price and the per-gallon rate you see. Smaller local companies tend to run leaner on overhead than national chains, which is part of why local rates are often competitive.
Local taxes also play a role. Sales tax may depend on the delivery address and the type of order — residential home heating oil may be exempt from New York State sales tax, but local county or city taxes may still apply, and commercial deliveries may be taxed differently. Any applicable tax is confirmed on your final total before delivery.
Why two companies post different rates
Different companies buy at different times, run different size trucks, and run different size operations. A company that bought heavily on a low-price day may be able to hold a lower posted rate for a week. A company that just refilled at a higher wholesale price may have to post higher to break even.
It is genuinely worth comparing two or three local companies on the same day. The difference is usually a few cents per gallon, but on a 200-gallon fill that adds up.
Lock-in pricing, explained
We post one price per gallon per day on the homepage. When you submit an order, that price is locked for your delivery — even if the wholesale market moves the next day. That is why a fast order on a good-price day is one of the few real ways for a homeowner to influence what they actually pay.
We do not sell pre-buy contracts, capped-price plans, or fixed-price contracts. Those products can save money in some years and lose money in others; they are also notoriously hard to read. A single locked-at-order rate is simpler, and it keeps us on the same side of the table as the customer.
If today's posted rate looks good, you can lock it in by ordering online or calling. We post a fresh rate every business day.