Rainchecks vs. Substitution

One of the biggest issues we face as couponers, is what do we do when our store is out of a product?

Often we have two choices: a raincheck or a substitution.  Both have their pros and cons.

Rainchecks:

Rainchecks are amazing at many stores (see a previous post about why I LOVE them here).  Rainchecks are a promise by a store to give the same sale price at a later date since they don’t have the product in stock currently.  Rainchecks are great because maybe we don’t need four more boxes of Finish gel pacs right now while the sale is on- but having that raincheck lets us get it at that super sale price later on and most stores allow us to use manufacturer coupons on that raincheck item too.

Some stores’ rainchecks do expire so be sure to know your store’s raincheck policy.  CVS and Rite Aid will write rainchecks for their loyalty reward promotions (such as Up+ or ECB).  Walgreens will not write rainchecks that include any Register Reward Promo but will write sale price rainchecks.

Pros:

-Many stores let you combine a new sale with a raincheck.  Example: Harris Teeter had frozen pizzas on sale Buy 1 Get 1 free.  They ran out and I got a raincheck.  The next week, when they restocked, the pizza was put on sale for $5.  I was able to use my Buy 1 Get 1 Free raincheck on the new sale price- getting TWO for the $5 and still use coupons on top of that.  It worked out to a better deal than if I had actually gotten the item during the sale.
-Rainchecks can be used during coupon promos.  When Lowe’s Foods or Harris Teeter run their Super Doubles I look through my coupons to see if any coupons will make spectacular deals now with the extra coupon savings.
-I can make my own sale later!  If the store is out of a brand of eggs, I will ask for a raincheck.  Maybe in three weeks I need more eggs- then I can redeem that raincheck and get the eggs at a great price even though their price is now much higher.

Cons:

-Your coupons could expire before the item is ever replenished.
-You may actually need that product right now and a raincheck won’t solve that right now.

Substitution:

Some stores will offer to substitute a different brand at the sale price.  For example, today I went to get a deal at CVS on Scott toilet paper.  (it is not a HOT deal but I have a bunch of ecb expiring so I decided to turn those ecb into a gift card).  My store was out and ended up substituting an 18 pk of Cottonelle for the 18 pk of Scott.  Well, I prefer Cottonelle and I had Cottonelle coupons!  So I was able to get 4 18-pks of Cottonelle for a good deal and still get the rewards offered on the Scott toilet paper.

Some stores will offer to substitute item A for item B and still accept the manufacturer coupon for item A.  Personally, I am not comfortable handing over coupons that require a purchase of a specific product and buying something else.  That is my personal line on coupon ethics.  Here is why- that store is still going to toss that coupon in with a bunch of other coupons and hand them over to be reimbursed.  Should Scott have to pay for my Cottonelle purchase?   I don’t think so.  (Some couponers see this as a grey area of couponing since the store is the one turning in the coupons and declaring that they sold those items.  I am only sharing my thoughts and how I personally coupon.  Your thoughts may differ.)

In those cases I prefer to get a raincheck or purchase the substitution with no coupon being used.

Some stores will offer to meet the deal by different packages  such as (3) 4-pks of toilet paper instead of a 12 pack.  Or (1) 20 ct box of a product instead of (2) 10 ct.   Substitutions can be great because maybe you really needed toilet paper- and so you still get the great deal even though the store was out of the original offer.

Pros:

-Get item immediately
-No worry about coupon expiring before the item is restocked in the store
-Often still get any promotional offer attached to the original item (i.e. Extra Care Bucks, gift card offer, etc)

Cons:

-May be asked to use a coupon on a product not purchased
-May get a brand or variety not wanted

So if you are given the option of a raincheck or substitution, it’s going to be a personal choice about which you take.  Since my ECB were expiring at CVS today I took the substitution.   This allowed me to have the same out of pocket I was expecting and still get the rewards back I wanted.  Normally, I would be much happier with a raincheck but I didn’t want to have to go home and re-work a deal and try to decide what to use all those ECB on that I would use and that was a good deal.

Which do you prefer- rainchecks or substitutions?