Rain checks on shopping items? Rain is good

By ARTHUR VIDRO
What It’s Worth
I first learned about rain checks when I was a wee lad of 6 or 7 and was taken to a baseball game (Braves at Mets). There on the ticket stub was a tear-off portion called a rain check, spelling out the terms. I read the words carefully, even though it was a fine summer day.

The rain check provided that if, say, rains would begin fiercely and suddenly in the third inning and the game was canceled, then the ticker-holder would be allowed to use the stub, or rain check, to gain admittance to a future game.

Later on I would learn that rain checks don’t require rain to become effective. Stores use them frequently, in all sorts of weather.

Suppose a local store is holding a sale one week on, say, light bulbs. A package of four Sylvania light bulbs, any wattage, for one dollar. That would be an attractive deal.

So you go to the store, drawn by the prospective bargain. But the light-bulb bin is empty. All sold out. What do you do?

Stores might hope you’ll shop around in the other aisles and forget about the light bulbs. Or that you’ll make a return trip another time and buy them then, even though the sale might have ended.

But you still want your package of light bulbs for one dollar, don’t you? You can get them – but only if you speak up.

There’s a chance more light bulbs are in the back room, and an employee can get them. But usually a bare bin means the store is completely out of the item.

If the store has a customer service desk, go there. Explain the situation and they’ll take care of you.  If you wanted to buy more than one of the out-of-stock item, be sure to tell them.

If the sale item is not on the premises, customer service will issue you a rain check, specifying the item you wanted that was out of stock, the date you were there, the quantity desired, and the sale price.  You walk away with the rain check and return another day, after the item has been restocked — even if the sale has already ended — and buy the item for the sale price, providing that you bring your rain check with you.

If there is no customer service desk, you’ll have to wait on line at the checkout, even if you’re not buying anything. Again, explain the situation. If you have a flier showing the sale item and price, so much the better; it could make the process run smoother. Either way, you will walk away with a valid rain check, allowing you to take advantage of the sale on another visit.

Note that some stores will have an employee go to the aisle to verify the item’s being out of stock. It’s a short enough wait, usually.

Stores are not required by law to offer rain checks. They are issued as a courtesy. But it makes sense for the stores to issue them. They want satisfied customers who keep coming back. A string of “sales” where the item is always already sold out leads to discontented customers and eventually to ex-customers. (Some shady entities advertise a low-priced item, for instance a major appliance or a car, not mentioning there is only one such item at that price, and it somehow always gets sold before you show up. Their goal is to get you on the premises to unleash their sales force on you for the non-sale items. This is called a bait-and-switch. More on such tactics another time.)

If a chain store issues the rain check, it most likely will be valid at any of the stores in the chain. I can attest that the Rite Aids in Claremont and Newport honor each other’s rain checks. So if you get a rain check in, say, Concord, you can use it at the store’s Claremont branch.

How quickly must you use the rain check? That varies from store to store, but it almost always is spelled out on the rain check itself.

Here in Claremont, the local Hannaford and Market Basket each offer rain checks valid for 30 days.  That seems to be the norm. The local Rite Aid also stipulates 30 days from the date of issuance, although an employee there told me, even if 30 days have lapsed, the store will still honor it.

Surprisingly, the local CVS issues rain checks that never expire. So if you get a rain check there, consider holding on to it. If the item is still made and sold, say, 10 years from now, or even 20, and if CVS policy hasn’t changed, that rain check could become a valuable inflation-fighting tool.