Update October 2008: Well oil is now below $80/barrel and the pre-buy was certainly a bad idea in hind sight. How many of you pre-bought? Was there a clause for reduced market prices?

Original Post July 2008:
I received an interesting piece of mail yesterday. It was an advertisement from our local oil and propane supplier. The advertisement was announcing this year’s pre-buy pricing. Are you ready for this folks? I wasn’t too shocked because I use propane and although it’s high it’s nothing compared to No. 2 fuel oil that conventional furnaces burn.

So here are the prices in the fine state of New Hampshire:

Pre-buy Prices require you to pay in full for the amount that you purchased the previous year.

#2 Fuel Oil = $4.74 per gallon! Yes folks….almost $5, I remember a time not that long ago when it was less than $1.

Kerosene = $4.92 per gallon!

Propane (LPG) = $2.89 This doesn’t seem bad to me considering I was paying about $2.60 last year.

So this week also poses an interesting question. Do you sign up for the pre-buy?? The last three days have seen oil drop $14 per barrel and it makes me wonder if things are about to finally cool off. I haven’t made up my mind but it’s surely a difficult decision.

How many of you are pre-buying this year? What are you paying?

Related Article – Oil Vs Propane Fuel Calculator is a great post on comparing which fuel source is a better financial decision.

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

View Comments

  • I got into a buying co-op earlier this year, and we locked in at $2.19/gallon. I'm in western Wisc.

  • I was quoted $3.09 for propane pre-buy in Massachusetts. I think I am going to pass this year -- though I would be interested in learning more about a buying co-op.

  • we use Oil- and didn't prebuy (couldn't imagine it staying that high all season to end up ontop of the game this year!). WHEW- thankful we didn't. We are in a co-op fuel club which is a pay-as-you-go discount program ($35 to join- no other costs). Filled the tank at $3.30 a gallon (price quoted by fuel company directly that same day was $3.99). I'll keep track of season's costs to see where I'd have come out w/ prebuy, fuel club, and list price.

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