Rain checks can extend great coupon deals

Q: In a previous column, you mentioned shopping Sunday through Wednesday, or the days the sales cycles overlap at the store. A disadvantage is the stores may be out of sale items by the last day or two, but you can get rain checks and then buy when needed or when you get a coupon. Just this past week, toothpaste was on sale for $1.50 a tube, but my store had sold out. I had four coupons for $3 off two tubes of toothpaste, so I got a rain check and went back to get my toothpaste once it was back in stock. With those coupons, I got 8 free tubes. That’s what I call a deal.

A: Rain checks are an excellent way to ensure you’ll get the products you want, even if the store has sold out. They’re also a way to extend the sale for yourself, buying a little more time to come up with coupons to match to a good sale price.

Previously, I discussed a promotion at my store in which dog food went on sale for $3.99 a bag. Also, there were $3 coupons for the dog food in the newspaper inserts. Clearly, dog food for 99 cents is already a steal. But during that sale, after I bought my bags of dog food with the coupons I had in hand, I also got a rain check for the same brand of dog food. Why?

Because in doing so, I bought myself another 30 days’ worth of time to buy that dog food at $3.99 a bag. And over the next few weeks, I got in touch with friends and family members who don’t own dogs and asked if I could have their $3 dog food coupons. About three weeks after the sale ended, I went to the store, where the shelves were fully stocked, and I brought home even more 99-cent bags of dog food.

Anytime I find bare shelves, I make sure to get a rain check for the items for which I’m shopping. But for a particularly good sale, it never hurts to get a rain check just to extend that sale a little longer for you, too.

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