One day I was at the grocery store with my daughter and noticed that the coffee that they had on special (at an especially great price) was all sold out. I commented to my daughter that it was good that I had bought some a few days earlier.
My daughter, the frugal expert in the family, then went to the service desk and came back with several rainchecks for the coffee. I will get the same great price on coffee well into the next year!
Now I make an effort to notice when specials on any items I use are out of stock and take the few minutes to go to the service desk and get some rainchecks for them. That way I can save even more than just buying during the sale.
By Diane from Paradise, PA
Sometimes at our local stores, they have a 'sales display' as well as the items that are on sale, their on place on the shelves & can be found there any day or time, you shop. So if you find the sales display empty of the specific sale item you were looking to purchase, be sure to always check the regular place on the shelf as well.
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Finding big sale items in weekly store ads is great, until you get to the store and notice they've ran out of stock. It can be frustrating, especially because you've made an effort to make it out to the store only to find there was nothing there for you.
If an item is out of stock, don't forget to get a raincheck. I went to CVS today and as you can see the entire sale items are wiped out. The deal is if you purchase a select Conair Hair Styling Product for $15, you get $10 Extra Bucks (essentially a coupon to shop back at CVS).
Always get a raincheck! If the store has run out of an item on special, it is well worth it to go to the service desk and request a raincheck. This will enable you to get the item at the sale price after the sale has ended. Be careful -- some rainchecks have an expiration date.
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Does anyone know the legalities of rainchecks? We have a store here that routinely runs out of "sale" items -- none of which are posted "until supplies last." When I ask for a raincheck, I am told, "We don't give them out." They used to tell me to, "Tell the cashier the next time you are in the store," leaving it up to me to (1) remember, (2) bring in the store ad to prove the price the next time I shop, (3) prove that I bought at least $15.00 worth of groceries to get the special price, and (4) fight with the cashier.
Okay, I might not know all the legalities, but I have worked in retail for 12 years so here goes... Stores might receive only a small amount of the sale item and therefore do not give rainchecks as they might not restock the item or will not carry it again at that special price. Chain stores will have a notation in their ads like "2500 chainwide" or "15 per store". Small stores might have a one time deal with a distributor to get an item cheaper wholesale (sometimes by purchasing something else) and so cannot give the sale price later. Even if a store doesn't say the sale price is "until supplies last" you should reasonably assume that is the case. Maybe the store stocked 100 of this sale item and 4 greedy people bought 25 each instead of 100 people each getting one.
Well, Susan. Guess who I am? The lady for whom the California Bait-and-Switch law was written some 35 (was it that long ago?) years ago. The rain check was included in that law. A similar thing happened to me for an item listed at "while supplies last," and the Attorney General won a $4M lawsuit against the merchant, a large chain furniture store. Just advertising "while supplies last" wasn't enough in LA, with some 7M people then.
Then our state legislature--remember them, the guys who never do anything?--passed a law spelling it out, adding rain checks.
So my advice is call the Arizona Attoney General's office and tell them the situation, especially what the cashier said. See what the law really is, and what they advise.
O.
You could contact your local newspaper, but be aware that if this store engages in a 'bait and switch', then you have very little hope of ever receiving the advertised goods at the lowered price.
