‘No idea’: Little-known supermarket hack to lock in sale prices

A thrifty shopper has shared a trick that allows you to lock in sale prices on discounted items in supermarkets if they’re sold out.

Sale item trick at Coles and Woolies. Picture: Supplied

Who’s going to say no to a savvy shopping hack that will save you money during your weekly shop?

In this economy? Not this gal.

Has this trick been floating around for years? Absolutely. But even as a chronically online scroller and an avid member of an embarrassing amount of supermarket-enthusiast groups, sometimes, things fall through the cracks.

But it turns out, I’m not the only one who has been algorithmically dodged by this little nugget of wisdom.

Allow me to let you in on the secret.

You know when you spot your favourite snack on special at the supermarket, like those delicious little chocolate peanut slabs placed at the perfect impulse-purchase location – but then you come back for round two of your sweet treat the next day, and they’re all gone?

WELL. You can actually lock in the discounted price for when they’re back in stock – yes, even if they’re no longer on sale.

Enter: the revolutionary concept of ~ the raincheck ~, a word I’ve often heard, but never understood.

There’s a nifty little trick at Coles and Woolies that can help you lock in sale prices for sold out items. Picture: Facebook/KatiKeki

Content creator Kati Keki shared the tip on her social media this week, saying, “Just a little reminder that if a product has run out you can get a raincheck to lock in the price …”

She then shared a close-up photo of the product’s sale ticket that she showed to a staff member to make the whole process more efficient.

A Coles spokesperson confirmed this is totally legitimate. “If a product is advertised in our weekly catalogue but it is unavailable, customers are entitled to ask for a raincheck coupon,” they told news.com.au.

“The raincheck enables customers to buy that item at the same advertised reduced price within 30 days of receiving the raincheck, even after that product has reverted back to full price.”

There are some caveats, however.

Vouchers can’t be redeemed on tobacco and smoking products, gift cards, mobile phones, mobile phone accessories and prepaid mobile phone services.

And when an item is marked ‘while stocks last’ or ‘no rainchecks’, Coles don’t offer a raincheck.

Also, sometimes there’s a maximum amount of items you can buy with a raincheck, to limit the chance of a #stockpiling sitch.

Once you request a raincheck, you’ll be issued one of these guys. Picture: TikTok/Woolworths

Woolworths is also on board, bringing its raincheck policy back in February to help us all “hack your shopping budget and make the most of our 6000 weekly specials in store,” according to its spokesperson.

The 30-day period applies here as well, and there are similar products that are excluded from the offer too, like gift cards and tobacco.

People were absolutely lapping up the PSA on Facebook, with one shopper saying, “This is cool”, while others said, “Thanks for the info” and “Great news”.

Eloquent stuff, but they’re bang on, really. Because next time I spot those peanut slabs, I’m definitely going to try this out. Yes, even if it does make me feel like a pensioner, both my choice of snack and this thrifty tip.

Originally published as ‘No idea’: Little-known supermarket hack to lock in sale prices