If you want to find the best gas prices in your neighborhood, try http://www.gaspricewatch.com. Basically, you can select the zip code or area of your choosing and find gas stations in your area. You can add stations of your choosing to your list of stations and then monitor the gas prices for those stations. Gas prices are supplied by "spotters" -- people who voluntarily input prices for stations in their neighborhood. You can sign up to be a spotter yourself and earn points every time you update information. In the past, spotters with the most points got prizes, but for now it's just for fun, although the site says that they're pursuing an incentive program through the use of sponsors. For now, the reward of being a spotter is helping your fellow man find good prices and helping lower the price of gasoline by encouraging people to go to cheaper stations.

I found about this site through a web search. I had been looking for something like this for a while. It's the perfect application of the Internet -- bringing consumers together. I added the stations in my neighborhood and quickly discovered that a nearby Valero station was the cheapest in the area. I now try to swing by that station on the way home from work when I need gas. I know that I'm saving my buck or so and also helping (in a very small way) to encourage competition that should help lower gas prices. I also became a spotter and now update prices for a few stations in my area whenever I get a chance.

As far as cons, I am not totally in love with the site's design. It could probably stand a little improvement to make it less clunky and a bit faster. But I think the idea is fantastic and I think it would be great if more people used the site and encouraged some healthy competition.

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