Understanding Rainchecks

The Thrift Mama had this EXCELLENT post, helping to demystify rainchecks. I have been trying to be more diligent about asking for rainchecks on things that are out of stock (even ECB items at CVS!) and it is paying off greatly for my family. I hope this article helps you too:

What is a Raincheck?
A raincheck is issued by a store to a customer for the sale price of an item when the item is sold out. This allows customers to take advantage of the sale price at a later date of their choosing. It’s kind of like an “IOU” issued by the store, so that customers are able to get a sale price if the stores were not properly stocked for a sale.

You can get a raincheck even if just one variety of a product is sold out. For example, say you wanted to get some Green Giant Steamers because they are on sale for $1. They have a lot of bags, but not the broccoli and cheese flavor. You are able to get a raincheck, even though they still have a lot of Green Giant Steamers in-stock, because one flavor/variety is sold out.

Rainchecks do not expire, and there is usually not a limit as to how many items you can get with the raincheck. This does sometimes vary by store or the person issuing you the raincheck. You do have to surrender the raincheck at the time of your purchase, and you can use coupons with a raincheck. Rainchecks themselves are not considered coupons, so they do not interfere with the amount of coupons that you can use.

Why I Love Rainchecks
When I have a raincheck I usually don’t have to compete with other shoppers to get the deal.
I don’t feel rushed each week to get all of the deals. I can usually just pick up a raincheck to get a deal later at my own convenience.

Sometimes better coupons will come out, making my raincheck deal even better. Or, having my raincheck gives me a chance to get some coupons in bulk off of ebay or another source. A lot of times on ebay, if a particular coupon is in demand because of a sale, the auction price shoots way up. When I have a raincheck, I can bid on ebay and get a better deal on the coupons themselves, because I am not competing with everyone during the week of the deal. I can place a special order with the store at my convenience, so that I don’t wipe the shelves of something.

Sometimes a great deal comes along to make the raincheck price even sweeter. Like my recent cereal purchase at Kroger this past week. I was able to combine my raincheck price with a $3 off in-store promotion and my coupons for an awesome deal. Promotions or rebates that come along later, can make your rainchecks very valuable, indeed!

I can pick up a raincheck every time I go in a store if the item is still sold out. Say I go into Publix 3 times this week trying to track down a deal. If it is sold out every time I go in, that means I can pick up 3 rainchecks; one each time I go in.

If I have already spent all of the grocery money that I am able to in a week, but there is a deal I really want to get, I can pick up a raincheck (granted the item is sold out), so that I can purchase the deal another week. Stockpiling rainchecks for the best sales is really the way to go if you want to stretch your dollars.

Thank you Thrifty Mama! If any of my readers are interested in learning more about rainchecks, this is a topic I cover at my Advanced Couponing class. Host your own Grocery Smarts class and earn an invite to the Advanced Couponing class. Check out my left-hand sidebar for more information!