Gas On Craigslist: No Wait, But Hefty Premiums After Hurricane Sandy

Residents not willing to brave long lines at gas stations to fill up their tanks or generators following Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath have another option – Craigslist.

While some New York and New Jersey residents idle for upwards of five hours for gas in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Craigslist users looking to make a quick and hefty buck have turned to the classified ads website to sell gas.

Using Craigslist may help impatient residents, but it also comes at a price.

One gas peddler in Queens is asking for $20 a gallon for gas, delivery included.

They wrote, “if you need Gas Tonight in the North end of Queens I can Deliver to your Home.$20.00 a Gallon or $100.00 for 5 Gallons. sorry about the price but I waited 4 hours for 20 Gallons.”

On Staten Island, the New York City borough hit the hardest by Hurricane Sandy, a seller is offering five gallons of gas for $4 a gallon along with an $80 premium for the wait he braved to acquire the scarce resource.

That price is not as steep as the $20 a gallon being offered by another Staten Island resident.

“GAS FOR SALE BY THE GALLON. WILL DELIVER FOR A SMALL FEE,” the ad reads.

Also on Queens, a poster is selling 10 gallons of gas for $7 a gallon.

Gas prices in New York as of Wednesday were the third-highest in the country at $3.966 for regular unleaded, only ahead of Alaska’s $4.018 and Hawaii’s $4.258.

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman warned against price gouging, which is illegal in New York and New Jersey.

"We will do everything we can to stop unscrupulous businesses or individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives," Schneiderman said Monday, according to CNN Money. "There are always people who show up when there's a crisis to take advantage of victims of a disaster."

Gas sellers on Craigslist say Sandy victims see them as a valuable service.

"Everybody is so appreciative that they can even get gas," a 28-year-old New Yorker named Ryan who is selling gas for $18 a gallon told CNN Money. "I'm just charging for delivery. I think if you can wait in a gas line, you should do it, but some people don't want to wait. Some people don't have time to wait."

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie instituted gas rationing to ease long lines in the Garden State. The policy allows license plates with even numbers to fill up their tanks on even days and odd numbered plates on odd days.

There is no gas rationing in New York, where officials cannot definitively say when the long waits will end.

“It will take a little while to get the distribution to stations,” New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the New York Times. “Until the bottleneck clears, lines at the pump probably will remain long.”