Massachusetts households often spend a lot of money on heating oil during the winter. According to the state, the average households spent nearly $2,300 on heating oil during the 2017-2018 winter season. That was an increase of 17 percent from the year before.
This year, the prices could be even higher than they were last winter. Higher prices make it more important than ever for people to find oil suppliers with affordable prices.
Unfortunately, some of the companies that advertise low prices often have hidden fees that you don’t know about until after you’ve made a purchase. To get a cheaper price per gallon, you need to look at a number of factors that will affect how much money you spend heating your home this winter.
Some Companies Charge Excessive Delivery Fees
When ordering heating oil online, you need to consider whether companies charge excessive delivery fees. OrderMyOil.com, for instance, advertises low prices per gallon. Depending on where you live, the company estimates that you can purchase heating oil for $2.40 to $2.60 per gallon in July of 2018.
Those prices sound pretty good to most households, so they order their oil online expecting to save money. Later, they learn that they have to purchase more than 150 gallons at a time to avoid a $40 delivery charge. Suddenly, the 100 gallons that you ordered to top off your tank doesn’t seem like such a good deal. With the delivery charge included, the per gallon price goes from $2.40 to $2.80, making the cost far more expensive than what you can get from other heating oil providers.
Many Oil Providers Only Offer Low First-Time Delivery Prices
Some heating oil companies use a different scheme to trick you into becoming a customer. Instead of offering consistently affordable heating oil, they give you a reduced price on your first order. With your first order, you may get free delivery and even a slightly lower per gallon price. It seems like a remarkable deal.
When your tank starts to run low, though, you discover that you can’t rely on the provider. The great price that you got when you filled your tank during fall can increase significantly by the time you place your second order.
You probably assume that companies lose a lot of business by tricking their customers in this way. In reality, a lot of households continue to use the same company because they never think to compare prices. Since they got low prices on their first orders, they think that they’ll continue getting the best price available.
In reality, they’re paying much more than they should.
Find the Best Overall Price for Heating Oil
Traditional heating oil companies will keep using their schemes to attract customers, so it’s up to you to find a better option.
For the cheapest per gallon and overall prices, you need to collaborate with other people in your area. When you purchase heating oil as a group, you can get lower prices that help everyone save money.
Slick makes this process easy by automatically combining your order with those of the households near you. By combining your orders, Slick eliminate unnecessary delivery fees and harnesses your buying power to give you a lower price per gallon.
What does that mean for you? It means that choosing Slick makes it easier, faster and cheaper to purchase heating oil for your home.
To get the best prices on your heating oil this year, visit Slick to learn more about how you can save money on every order that you place.