Priceline.com - Are you crazy?  I'll lose my shirt at $1.66.  Haven't you heard that dotcoms
........................selling below cost is no longer in style?  Wall Street wants profits now.
BBIS (Bashed and Bruised Internet Shopper) - Initially I was thinking about $1.44.
Priceline.com - Why would I sell 93 octane, the grade of royalty, to you for $1.66, when
........................I am getting $1.82 right now?  Look at all these pumps and look at all the 
........................people pumping their own gas.  (Priceline.com hollers over to a customer 
........................currently pumping premium fuel into his gas tank)  Excuse me, sir.  How 
........................much are you paying for that gasoline?
Customer -       I'm paying $1.81 (he drops the nine tenths when stating the price).
Priceline.com - (To the customer) Are you a happy customer?
Customer -      Yes.
Priceline.com - (engaging the BBIS again) I have a fair price and I have happy customers.
........................This is a small margin business.  If I were to sell my gasoline to you and everyone
........................else for a ridiculous price, I would be collecting unemployment by the end of the
........................day.  Please, don't ask me to sell my gasoline to you for $1.66 per gallon.
BBIS - ............Hey, your sign out front says "Name Your Own Price...and Save!"
Priceline.com - That's called marketing.  Do you really think I mean that?
BBIS - ............And if I were to contact Captain Kirk and tell him that you said this, that
........................would be ok with you?
Priceline.com - (tosses an evil stare toward the BBIS) Ok.  You want me to go out
........................of business?  Here, Mr. Internet Shopping 24/7, you take your gas for $1.66 and 
........................then you tell all of your friends.  In fact, why not tell them to demand a price of
........................less than $1.66?  How about ten cents a gallon?  Let's pretend it is the 1950s 
........................again.  If I'm going to go out of business, I might as well do it in style.  Go, go. 
........................Go pump your gas for $1.66.
BBIS - ............(to himself) Oy, the things I do for the love of science.  I wonder if he'll wash
........................the windshield and check the oil?

The Priceline.com procedure for purchasing gasoline was interesting.  There is definitely a subtle undertone of gambling.  I am not a gambler -- well, I have played the Dollar Wheel in Tahoe and I once purchased a lottery ticket -- however, I found entertaining and exciting the slot machine like spinning tumbler which reported either "Yes," "No," or "Maybe" as to whether "my price" would be accepted.  I suspect that part of this excitement was the novelty of the process.

After signing in and specifying the number of gallons of gasoline that I would be purchasing (either 10, 20 , 30, 40, or 50 gallons), I was prompted for my zipcode.  Alas, no participating gas stations were located in my specific zipcode.  The nearest participating gas stations were in a section of Boston that is within minutes of my house; I elected to pursue a purchase from one of these gas stations.  I indicated that I would be willing to purchase gas from three of the six participating stations that were listed.  Priceline requires that a minimum of three stations be selected, unless the number of participating stations in an area is less then three.  I knew where one of the stations listed was located as I had purchased gas there on many occasions -- it was a Texaco station.  I wasn't absolutely sure of the locations of the other stations, so I called up Mapquest and typed in their addresses, which were listed by Priceline.com.  The other two stations (one sold Gulf and the other Exxon branded gasoline) that I selected were also located conveniently near my house.  I did not select one particular station that was also near my house -- and that I had driven/ridden/run by many times in my life -- because I knew that entering and exiting this gas station would not be as easy as the others (as its lot was always packed with cars and it was on a section of a street where entering into traffic is a pain in the... -- Shaft, shut your mouth) and it had a relatively small number of pumps (which could possibly translate into a longer wait to fill 'er up and less likelihood that they would accept my price).  (I can't believe that I think about these things when all I am doing is simply buying gasoline.  It just enters my mind seamlessly; I can't shut it off.)

After selecting the gas stations at which I was willing to purchase gasoline, a screen that prompted me to select a price was presented.  I was informed that premium grade gasoline was selling for an average price of $1.78 per gallon at either these three stations or in my area (I don't recall exactly -- and I can not get back in to the procedure to check as I am locked out from purchasing any more gasoline for several days).  In addition, I was informed that a price of $1.72 per gallon had an excellent chance of being accepted, a price of $1.67 per gallon had a good chance of being accepted, a price of $1.61 per gallon (I think that's what it was -- I admit that I forgot to write this down) had a fair chance of being accepted, and a price of $1.55 (or so, as again, I do not recall the precise amount) per gallon had a poor chance of being accepted.  I could either select one of these prices or name my own price.  I thought it would be boring to simply click on one of the prelisted prices so I decided to enter my own price.

I ruled out a price of around $1.72 per gallon as I knew that the Texaco station which I had selected has a "ten cents off" day on Fridays for 93 octane gasoline and is selling it currently at a regular price of $1.819 per gallon (I had driven by it within the last twenty four hours and I recall this -- kind of scary that I look for this stuff as I am out on the road; again, I can not shut off this feature of my mind).  In addition, I purchased premium gasoline last week -- on a day other than Friday (smile) -- from a discount station near my house at a price of $1.749 and I suspect that its price today was certainly no higher than this.  This led me to consider a price around $1.67 -- isn't it interesting how my pricing considerations are "anchored" by the Priceline.com listed prices?  I thought that the Texaco station would be willing to sell at this price as they rely on volume -- to the best of my recollection, it has at least 10-12 pumps -- and they will be selling gasoline at around $1.719 per gallon this Friday.  In addition, gas prices have been retreating a bit, so if they use "forward" pricing (where one assumes that the cost for an item, is what it would cost to replace it), a price of $1.67 is not outrageous.  I considered going very low as the only downside was that my offer would be rejected and either a) I would be given the opportunity to make some modifications or b) I would be closed out from making another price request for twenty four hours.  I kept my focus, however, and I was determined to get my mojo rolling again, so I put in a bid for $1.66 per gallon.

The next screen showed five slot machine tumbling window like graphics, one for each of the ten gallons that I wanted to purchase.  The "cylinder" rolling around the window had three outcomes on it -- Yes, No, Maybe.  As the cylinders tumbled around inside the windows, a message at the bottom of the screen indicated that I would have my answer within sixty seconds.  I was cracking up over this and found it very entertaining.  I was thinking "papa needs a brand new pair of shoes."  The tumblers all stopped on "Yes" and my price was accepted by the Texaco station.  Woohoo.

My credit card was charged $83 (50 gallons x $1.66 per gallon) and I was guided to print my "deal" sheet which included the name, address and telephone number of the Texaco station, and some other important details.  I have until October 30, 2000 to obtain my 50 gallons of gas from the Texaco station -- note that I have already purchased the gas, so the situation is "use it or lose it."  When I obtain my gas, I will need to bring my deal sheet with me and I will use the special Priceline.com gasoline card in a manner similar to that of a credit card.  At the pump, I will need to enter the card into the credit card slot -- assuming I do everything at the pump -- and I will need to enter in my "identification number" on the pushpad.

There is some fine print in using this service.  The fee for using this service is $3.00 per month in which a request is accepted; this fee is waived during the first three months after first using the service.  According to the Priceline.com FAQs section, "This fee is only charged during the months that you submit accepted requests for either gas or groceries, regardless of the number of requests you make."   Also, Priceline.com indicates "If you go to a different station, pump a different grade of gas, OR over pump by more than 5 gallons than on this Pre-paid Gas List, your credit card or check on file will be charged the full pump price of the gallons pumped plus a $1.50 processing fee."  This means that I better keep track of the amount of gas from my 50 gallon purchase that I have pumped -- hopefully, I'll get an update at the station prior to each purchase occasion, else this could be irritating. 

The suggestion that I will be charged a fee of $1.50 should I go to a different gas station must be in error or poorly worded.  If not, that means they must have someway of knowing that I am purchasing gas elsewhere -- will they have access to my credit card purchases?  No.  I suspect Priceline means to say that if I do these things while using my Priceline.com gas card at a participating gas station, then I will incur the indicated consequences.  I wonder what would happen if I pumped 4.99 gallons over my allocation?  Lastly -- and this is very cool -- one will not pay more than the listed pump price.  For example, if the price of premium gasoline drops to $1.649 (less than "my" price of $1.66), then I will be refunded the $0.011 ($1.66 - $1.649) for each gallon that I purchased at $1.649.

It looks like I could be saving enough money to purchase anywhere from a couple of Diet Cokes to a calzone for lunch.  If gas prices at my discount gas station remain at $1.749 -- assuming that I would go there to fill up -- then I would be saving $4.45 (50 gallons x ($1.749 - $1.66) ).  If I go to the Texaco station and get my gas there every Friday and their "10 cents off" price remains at $1.719, then I would be saving $3.45.  Gas prices have been dropping lately, so perhaps, my savings at the pump will amount to nothing.  The interest that I could earn by not pre-paying the $83 for my gas could be around $0.40 - $1.00 depending upon some reasonable low risk investment returns.

At the least, now no one can say to me, once the Internet Shopping 24/7 Project is over, "you retail shopped online exclusively for one year and you never used Priceline.com.  How can you call that a serious research project?"

Hanna Andersson
This evening, Amy discovered "Come up to the Attic!" email invitation from Hanna Andersson (go to http://www.hannaandersson.com/hannasattic).  The deals were pretty darn good.  She ordered sweatpants for herself ($10), sweatpants for me ($10), 4 pairs of socks for Kate ($1 each -- for when she is older).  Shipping was $4.  Act quickly as stuff is going fast -- and inventory may be added occasionally; the sale runs through September 30, 2000.
 

Luis Castillo RBI Watch (Through August 1, 2000)

Number of Hits......Batting Average......Number of RBI......Runs Scored
......124.......................366............................7........................72

Luis went 1-3 and left no man on base (and none were ever on for his at bats).

The following data were obtained from the game log that was listed at  ESPN.com
In the first inning Luis led off and grounded out.  In the third inning, he came to the plate with no one on base with two out, and walked.  Luis led off the sixth inning by grounding out to the pitcher.  In the eighth inning, with one out and no one onbase, he worked the count to 3-2 (i.e., the count was three balls and two strikes) and then singled to left field.