Always pay sale prices or how to *really* make rainchecks work for you

Okay, okay, I know that I've talked about rainchecks before and you're probably muttering to yourself "yes, yes, I get it.. get a raincheck if it's out of stock, blah blah blah (rolls eyes)" But, really, there's SO much more to it than that-- it's not just the getting of the raincheck, but the strategic utilization of it.

A few posts back, I explained how to get and use a raincheck at Target to get a discount on non-sale items (read about it here: http://neverpayretailagain.blogspot.com/2008/10/how-to-save-big-at-target-get-discounts.html), but I want to talk about how to really put those rainchecks to good use. In case you haven't realized, Christmas and Chanukah are both coming, and soon :) So, if you know that at some point you would like to purchase say, a doll or a truck or really, anything! then you should start collecting rainchecks for those things now so you have them ready when you need them-- think of them as coupons, 'cause in essence, that's what they are!

Also, when it comes to food shopping, I also use rainchecks to ensure that I can buy what I want at sale prices anytime. Since I tend to do a lot of my stockuppable grocery shopping at night, after my kids are in bed, often the butchershop and fishmonger aren't open , so it's difficult, if not impossible, to get any of the meat/deli/fish specials, so I get a raincheck as the cashier is ringing me out-- and I usually get a raincheck for FAR more than I'll purchase in one visit.

For instance, when London Broil is on BOGO at Winn-Dixie, I'll get a raincheck for 6 BOGO deals-- which is roughly 24 lbs of London Broil(!) I've noticed that London Broil is usually BOGO'd every 4 to 6 weeks, sometimes more often, sometimes less. But by getting the raincheck, I ensure that I can get the sale price on London Broil at least once a week until it's on sale again. If I do the same for fish, poultry, etc.. really ANYTHING that we use-- and not just food items-- but also toiletries, household goods, etc. I can really both s-t-r-e-t-c-h my dollars AND not have to lay out the money for a stockuppable item until I *really* need it. Rather than spending the money when it's on sale, I can buy it at my convenience-- yet still at a deep discount.

This also helps me when I want to hunt down coupons for those sale items. When I have a raincheck, I have the luxury of time-- I can purchase coupons from eBay or a company like The Coupon Clippers or even trade for them without the concern that I won't get the coupons before the sale ends.

Check your local stores' policies for rain check expiration-- some have 30 policies and some have unending policies, so plan accordingly. Additionally, at those stores that have handwritten rainchecks, you may be able to use the same raincheck over and over again. Back to my example from Winn Dixie and London Broil-- I had a raincheck for 6 BOGO deals and I only wanted to purchase 2 steaks (1 BOGO deal)-- so I brought the 2 steaks and the raincheck to the customer service desk and asked that they both adjust the price AND give me back the raincheck (with one BOGO deal removed) for 5 BOGO deals. They did so-- so now I can look forward to 5 more weeks of sale prices!

However, at those stores where the rainchecks are computer generated (like Target), it's difficult if not impossible to use the same raincheck more than once-- even if you don't use the full amount of it (i.e. you have a raincheck for 3 dolls, but you only purchase 1) So, in that case, make sure that you get as many rainchecks as you can-- you can even give them to a friend if you aren't able to put them to good use.

Any other ideas? I'd *LOVE* to hear them!