# And the profiteering begins **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 11, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915 "2001-09-11T21:01:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/1 "2001-09-11T21:01:05Z")
A co-worker’s wife just put gas in her car. The gas was $3.89 per gallon. It was $1.91 this morning. Nice job, jagoffs. We don’t have any idea who is responsible for the terrorism and how it will affect gas supplies, but you figure you’d start gouging early. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/2 "2001-09-11T21:11:38Z")
Isn’t profiteering like that illegal? Does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Lockfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/838e76/32.png) [@Lockfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockfist)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/3 "2001-09-11T21:13:55Z")
Check out “World Trade Center” on eBay. A ton of worldtradecenter… domain names got snapped up today as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/4 "2001-09-11T21:22:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lockfist \* > \*\*Check out “World Trade Center” on eBay. > > A ton of worldtradecenter… domain names got snapped up today as well. \*\* Looks like they’ve been invalidated by Ebay already. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/5 "2001-09-11T21:22:29Z")
[worldtradecenter.com](http://worldtradecenter.com) redirects to [redcross.org](http://redcross.org), so at least that was saved from profiteers. ---
**Author:** ![Winkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Winkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winkie)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/6 "2001-09-11T22:14:47Z")
In the Indianapolis area, rumors about gas prices started around noon. A northeastern suburb is reporting $4.99 per gallon, or was a couple of hours ago. Lines into every gas station on my 12-mile drive home toward the city were blocking traffic – many had law enforcement officers directing traffic. ---
**Author:** ![Mauvaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mauvaise/32/11084_2.png) [@Mauvaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mauvaise)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/7 "2001-09-11T23:43:30Z")
I live in Phoenix and I paid attention to the gas stations on my way home to see if prices had been raised since yesterday (when I filled up last). They have not: cheapest I saw was at an Arco station at $1.27/gal for unleaded (I paid $1.29 at another Arco yesterday). ---
**Author:** ![Yue\_Han](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/eada6e/32.png) [@Yue\_Han](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yue_Han)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/8 "2001-09-12T00:42:02Z")
I randomly check [worldtradecenter.com](http://worldtradecenter.com) this morning to see what was there and it said the owner was donating it to any charity that wanted to use it to help. Red Cross must have took him/her up on it. God bless you, mystery webmaster. –John ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/9 "2001-09-12T00:53:30Z")
at least the few I saw. I did see a station out of gas, but only one, and the others seemed to have normal prices. Kind of ironic (but nice) that it didn’t happen in this city. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/10 "2001-09-12T00:55:27Z")
I just emailed the webmaster at [worldtradecenter.com](http://worldtradecenter.com) thanking them for donating their site. ---
**Author:** ![Zanshin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e274bd/32.png) [@Zanshin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zanshin)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/11 "2001-09-12T00:57:38Z")
In Illinois, the governor took a stand with the petroleum marketers and said he wouldn’t stand for jacking up the prices on gasoline (which from what I understand was mostly downstate, not as much in the Chicago area). I gotta hand it to him – I don’t think much of him personally, but I’m glad to see him take action on this one. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/12 "2001-09-12T00:59:06Z")
Prices were the same as this morning on my trip home. I guess my friend’s experience was more or less isolated. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/13 "2001-09-12T01:35:09Z")
One station here in KC was selling gas at $4.15 a gallon, and had a line around the block. Miraculously, the prices have since dropped in just the 4 hours since that price was seen. ---
**Author:** ![Tenebras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@Tenebras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tenebras)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/14 "2001-09-12T01:52:10Z")
Ashcroft came down pretty hard on the KC sellers. Or at least that’s what it looked like on the Drudge Report. Tenebras ---
**Author:** ![SterlingNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@SterlingNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SterlingNorth)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/15 "2001-09-12T01:56:58Z")
Well, prices have been jacked up to as much as [$5 a gallon in the midwest](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13284-2001Sep11.html), reports the Washington Post. Hopefully, the actions of Ashcroft and others made those retailers reconsider their decisions. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/16 "2001-09-12T03:26:37Z")
Gas got up to $5.00 a gallon in OKC. Gov. Keating stepped and put his foot down on that right quick. Sometimes I have to admire that man. Now, my Congressmen just embarrass me. Jim Inhoff shouldn’t be allowed to speak during a crisis. ---
**Author:** ![Milossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Milossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milossarian)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/17 "2001-09-12T05:55:12Z")
Who’d have thought that the criminals that would sprout up after something like this wouldn’t be looters in New York City, but freaking gas stations in my home state of Michigan (and other states)? It’s my understanding that it’s quite illegal to price-gouge like this in a time of national crisis. According to the Drudge Report, at least the attorney general of the state of Missouri is saying he plans to prosecute offenders. Bra-fucking-vo. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/18 "2001-09-12T06:13:23Z")
The OK State Attorney General has a tollfree number flashing on the screen of one of the local stations that has been set up specificly to report price gouging. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Reuben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/54ee81/32.png) [@Reuben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reuben)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/19 "2001-09-12T10:16:52Z")
On the news in the UK this morning, a woman rang in to say that her son in NYC, who she spoke to in the night, had just had his rent **doubled**. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915/20 "2001-09-12T11:16:32Z")
$5 a gallon is profiteering? It costs that in this country anyway! The taking advantage of other people’s suffering is one of the lowest things that one can do. Inevitable as it is, I am saddened by any sign of it. pan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-the-profiteering-begins/80915.md?page=2)