FREE HOME PLANNER
SAMPLE!
I talked with a very sweet couponer last week who missed out on the awesome Quaker deal at Publix last weekend. When I asked her if she requested a rain check, she said she hadn't thought to ask for one . . . which broke my penny-pinchin' heart! 🙂
If you get to a store and they're out of an item you planned to purchase using coupons (or even a great sale item), always, always ask for a raincheck as you leave the store. Almost all stores offer them, and they're a great way to save on an item in the future, and sometimes even get a better deal than you would during the sale as occasionally a new coupon will pop up on the item that you were looking for.
In the picture above, I purchased all of those items for $2.67 plus tax mostly thanks to my rainchecks! Here's how it worked:
Bought 3 Smucker's Uncrustables at $1.47 (raincheck price)
Bought 3 Suave Deodorants $.99 (raincheck price)
Bought 1 Lucky Charms Cereal $1.69 (BOGO in current Publix ad)
Bought 1 Dixie Crystal Sugar $4.59
- Used (3) $.50/1 Smucker's coupons (doubled, no longer available)
- Used (3) $.50/1 Suave coupons (doubled, expired 8/26/12)
- Used $0.50 off ONE BOX Lucky Charms cereal
- Used coupon for FREE Dixie Crystal Sugar (won on a Facebook giveaway on their page, deducted $4)
- Paid $2.67 plus tax for $15.39 in groceries. . . WOOT!
You can see more about how to benefit from using rainchecks here, but I definitely recommend that you have a specific place in your coupon organizer to store your rainchecks, and keep any coupons that match that raincheck together with it.
Do you normally ask for rainchecks at your store? I'd love to hear if they've worked for you!
I try and remember to ask for rain checks but it’s something I need to do more of. I find it super helpful with meats (steaks/prime rib etc) that stuff can be crazy expensive but when it’s on sale it can be such a massive savings!
I live in NC and make a special trip to my Harris Teeter on either Monday or Tuesdays to look for items that are out that A) I normally use or B) will be very cheap or free with Qs that I have seen before. I have some that are 2 years old and even some from Bloom which has since changed to Food Lion here. I need to see if they will honor them since they are owned by the same parent company.
Mary, I would send an email to corporate and let them know about the limits. You shouldn’t be punished and be made to wait because they aren’t ordering enough stock. If there is some in the back room and an empty spot on the shelf, they should fill it.
I get rainchecks sometimes, but absolutely hate the hassle that goes with it at Publix. Apparently the Decatur Publix was writing more rainchecks than any other store (I was told this per one of the CS folks). This was because they weren’t keeping their ordering up as they should. They have had limits imposed for as long as I can remember, sometimes even limiting BOGO items to 1 or 2 deals (like the Emerald Breakfast on the Go or Schick razors last week). Ordering has gotten better, but still sometimes rainchecks are necessary. When you ask for one, you have to stand there while they call someone else to go and check to see if there is any stock in the back. Sometimes it is rather quick because they already know they are out, but I have had to stand there for as long as 10 minutes to be told they are out. I have gotten to where I will go and get other items and go back to the CS desk instead of waiting there while they check. I don’t mean to complain. I do understand that if you want/need an item at that time, you would certainly want them to get it for you if they have it, but at the same time, it is rather inconvenient to have to wait while they check if it is not an item I just have to have at that moment. I do understand why they try not to write many rainchecks (and at one time were limiting the number of items you could get with a raincheck to 4 units total). It was explained to me that with a raincheck, the store is not getting the promotion help from the manufacturer for those sales using a raincheck. All that being said, I meant to get a raincheck today for the Hefty plates and didn’t remember to get it.
I ask for a rain check at CVS if they are out of an item I had come to buy. Don’t have a Publix close, so don’t shop there. Anyway, at CVS it is often several weeks before the item is restocked, and then my coupon has expired. But I always point out the date on the raincheck and explain that it was valid when the rain check was issued. They have always honored it, although sometimes it takes a manager to ok. I go to the same CVS each week and they recognize me, so it is not a problem any more. Rain checks are great, just remember to use them on your next visit or when the item is back in stock.
The Publix I shop at usually has a pretty good stock of what’s on sale. However I did have to get a rain check once because they were out of Dial handsoap (it was free with coupons that week). Also important to know that Publix’s coupon policy says they will accept coupons that were valid on the date the rain check was issued. So if your coupon expires, while you are waiting for the rain check item to come back in stock, Publix will still honor your coupon for that item. Just another reason I love Publix!
My husband loves pop, but I won’t buy it unless it’s at $2.50 for a 12 pack. Recently, one of our supermarkets had it for this price so we stocked up. CVS had it on-sale at our target price last week. They had plenty of mt. dew, but no pepsi. I got a raincheck so that when he is low on pop in a couple of weeks, he can go into CVS, use the raincheck and get pop at the target price. We each have our own CVS card from when we were single, so we ended up with two rain checks that we will use as needed. CVS rain checks don’t expire, either.
Usually a store employee at Publix will advise me to get a raincheck, which is great b/c I might forget that that’s an option. I took advantage of the BOGO Suave deodorant rain check I had (plus my 50 cents off coupon she’d stapled to it) and got 2 for 75 cents each. 🙂