How many times have you gone to the store only to realize that the hot item that you spotted in the ad or read about on WeUseCoupons was out of stock?! It’s so frustrating and happens all too often these days as more and more people are searching for a bargain.

What is a rain check?

A rain check is a certificate that will allow you to purchase the item advertised at a later date for the sale price! In other words, it extends the sale for that particular item until the store restocks and you can purchase the item.

Obtaining a Rain Check

Generally rain checks are obtained at the customer service desk. Bring the ad to the desk with you and ask for a raincheck there. Different stores issue rain checks differently. Some put them on receipt paper while others hand write them on store cards. Often times if you ask the representative at the desk for a rain check, they will call to the back of the store to check and see if they have any more of the product in stock. Also, double check your rain checks once they are issued. Even the most experienced store employees will get confused from time to time. A good habit to get into is to cut out and staple the advertised price from the ad to the rain check so there are no questions later.

Ask for a substitution

If a store is out of stock of an advertised item, you would be surprised to learn that often if you ask, they will give you the advertised price on a different superior item! This happened last week when my local grocery store had Lysol Wipes on sale for $1.50. I had coupons for $1 off two Lysol wipes which would have made them $1 each if I had purchased two of them. They were out of stock, so I asked a manager if he would substitute Clorox wipes instead. He said, "Absolutely." This deal became even better because I had coupons for $1 off one Clorox wipe which made them only $.50 each!! By simply asking for a substitution and being prepared with my coupons, I was able to save even more money.

So why would you bother with a rain check?

After you really get into couponing you will start to notice that coupons are cyclical. Soup coupons come out in winter while hot dog coupons come out in summer. By extending the sale price of an item, you can wait for a coupon to come out! When a good coupon comes out, you can then redeem the coupon with the rain check and get the item for extremely cheap or even free!

Redeeming Rain Checks

Be prepared to wait. Each item price will need to be adjusted manually. If you have 10 items then it will take a little extra time at checkout. Also, pay attention! It’s very easy for a cashier who has worked 6 hours to miss a couple of items. Check your receipts! Also, make sure you know your store's rain check policy. I have had a manager tell me I wasn’t allowed to use a rain check and a coupon! After talking to him and being pleasant, I was able to convince him that indeed he wasn’t even aware of his own coupon policy. This unfortunately is all too common. I carry a copy of all my store's policies just in case I have trouble at checkout.

Hoping the Store is Out-of-Stock!

People look at me strange when I say I’m going to the store and I hope they don’t have any Tide! I most likely already purchased Tide with the coupons I had, but want more! It’s part of the overall strategy. If the store is out of Tide, I can get a rain check at the sale price. The sale price will last until the rain check expires, which usually is 30 days from the issue date. (Some store’s rain checks don’t expire but most do.) By stocking up on rain checks I am extending the sale price on Tide, and then can wait until coupons come out to get it even cheaper. If a coupon comes out I can go to eBay or a clipping service and get 30 or 40 coupons, then go to the store and purchase Tide for an extreme discount. Another good way to get rain checks is to visit the store when they are most likely to be out of stock, which is on the last day of the sale. This will increase your chances of the store being out of stock.

What if my Store doesn’t Offer Rain Checks?

If you have a store that refuses to offer rain checks and is constantly out of stock, (without stating that quantities are limited) you have the ability to contact consumer protection agencies. For the most part, stores practice good and honest advertising, but there are always some bad apples. If you feel the store is purposeful misleading customers with sales and are constantly out of stock, contact:


When contacting this agency, you will need to provide the following information for each incident:

The store name, address and phone number
A copy of the store ad
The date the item was sold out
The store employee (preferably a manager) who refused a rain check
Any other commutation that took place between you and the retailer

Rain checks can be an amazing way to save lots of money when couponing and an important tool when stockpiling! Learning to use them the right way will in the end be well worth your time!

Unfortunately no. Rainchecks are only good for an item that is out of stock not for a store promo such as doubles or triples.

What are the possiblities of getting a raincheck when Kroger runs the Mega sale and getting it for the Mega sale price?

I got a rain check recently at Walgreen's (last week). They had supplements on sale B1G1, which my daughter has to take 90/month of a supplement that was on sale. I went to my local store, and they were out of what I needed. I simply got a rain check from the manager, who pointed out that their truck did not come in for a few days. So, I went in the next day and got ANOTHER rain check for the same item since the first manager was so kind to state, "There is no expiration date on this rain check, so you can use it whenever we have it."

The part about hoping an item is out of stock, that's me all day on Saturdays and Wednesdays at Giant Eagle. Sometimes I don't have the money to buy what I want so I see if things are on sale. I have a Giant Eagle that will give me unlimited amount on the rain check and some will only give me six.

Great article though.