* Item out of stock? Request a raincheck!

Ok- confession.  I love blogging.  The whole purpose of this blog was to share the awesome deals I was getting and help others find ways to save money through these great deals.  BUT- I have noticed that since I’ve started this blog, it’s getting harder and harder to find the great deals on the shelves as often as I used to- ya’ll are quick! 

But, I’m ok with that.  I mean I would be crazy to think things wouldn’t change!  And I’m thrilled that more of you are getting the deals.  But obviously I still want the deals too.  So if any of you are headed to the store and find empty shelves, my recommendation is this:  raincheck, raincheck, raincheck.

What is a raincheck? A raincheck is basically an “IOU” from the store saying that they will honor the price of the sale item or coupon at a later date because they were out of stock.

Here’s a few tips on requesting rainchecks and my experiences with it:

• Having the store ad or in-ad coupon when you request a raincheck is very helpful to the cashier as they need to put down exactly which items were on sale, any included promotions (like +UPs), etc.

• The number you can request will vary.  On a sale item, they will usually let you chose the number.  If it is a ad coupon or sale that has limits, you will also be limited by that on the raincheck.  I have had a great experience with Rite Aid that if I have asked for 10 items on my raincheck and they get 3 in stock, they will let me buy those 3 and just reduce the number on my raincheck to 7.  So that way I can still get product as it is available, but not have to buy all of them at once.

• If you are not told, ask when the raincheck expires.  This usually varies from 30 days to never.

• You can use coupons with rainchecks.  So if you had a plan to stock up on something that combines a great sale and a coupon, you can still do this with a raincheck when stock comes in again.

• Keep track of your rainchecks!  I usually put them in my accordian folder under whatever store they are for, so that way I see them regularly and don’t forget to check and see if that product is back in stock.

Please feel free to share your questions or experiences with rainchecks!  We’d all love to know!