Nebraska gas station owners make little profit from gasoline sales

Patricia Tillotson and her husband own a convenience store in Battle Creek. Tillotson said customers now understand the high pump prices at Tilly’s Gas & Shop and other gas stations around the country aren’t the fault of the station owners. Like most stores of its kind, Tilly’s makes a majority of its profit from grocery and other convenience items.

Tillotson said it’s difficult to keep a small business operating in a small town when the cost of everything is increasing. “I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘We’re not even bothering to get the camper out,’” she said.

Hal Seeley, who opened Four Seasons Mini Mart in Pierce with his wife, Mary, earlier in the year, said gas station merchants make very little - if anything - on the sale of gas. “Quite often, we’re making only three to five cents a gallon,” he said. But when customers use a credit card to purchase fuel, there are charges and fees that have to be paid that often subtract from what minuscule profit there is, he said.