If a sale is going to be hot, chances are your whole town knows about it. A hot sale may also mean a limited quantity of the item available, which means if you are not on top of your game, you may find yourself staring at empty shelves…empty handed! Don’t let this happen to you. Instead, be prepared for a sale by doing some preplanning, so when it hits you can stock up on the item you want at the price you need! Below, you will find the best tips you need to know for how to prepare for a hot sale using coupons.
Don’t be caught empty handed again. Instead, read these tips, take notes, and be ready next time a hot sale is coming your way. With a little planning and homework, you can be sure you are one of the first to take advantage of a hot, stock up price!
How to Prepare for a Hot Sale Using Coupons:
1. Call and place your order.
You may have seen this done on popular couponing shows before. That is because it is thebest way to get the products you need in the quantity you want. If you know a sale on a certain item is approaching, stores are happy to order product for you. For example, you might see that diapers are going on sale at your store in two weeks. Your coupon preview shows you that a high value $2.50/1 coupon will also be in circulation. You can call your store ahead of time and order as little as 2 or 20 boxes. This way, you don’t have to worry about stock being depleted and can rest easy.
2. Talk to the store manager.
Delivery issues are out of the control of the consumer, so the manager might extend your rain check or offer a discount for future shopping. You won’t know unless you ask, so be polite and see what you end up with!
3. Shop alternate locations.
Just ask customer service to check with another location if their stock is low or depleted. Customer service will be happy to phone other locations to see if they have the product in stock, or you can do this yourself. If the alternate location is close, it may be worth the trip to stock up.
4. Ask for a rain check.
Rain checks are key to getting a sale price if stock is depleted. Today, rain checks are so much easier to get issued. If a store is out of stock and the sale terms do not indicate that rain checks will not be issued, you can ask for one.
5. Ask your store to hold items for you.
Just like a shop will put a hold on that pair of shoes or coat you have your eye on, grocery stores will do the same for food items. The trick is, you need to ask nicely. Perhaps you are aware of a high value coupon on shampoo that is coming out on Sunday. You can go to your grocery store on Saturday and gather the number of bottles you wish to buy. Ask to place them on a 24 hour hold at customer service. Ask nicely! When you return on Sunday with coupons in tow, your shampoo will be waiting for you at the new and reduced price.
6. Be a considerate shopper. Please?
Do you need all 250 bottles of hot sauce? Probably not, as they would go bad before you could even get to use them all. Instead, only take what you need, leaving more for others who want to take advantage of the deal too. It may just come back around to you!
7. Above all, don’t panic. There is always next time.
So tips 1-6 did not work? It’s ok if you miss a deal! It is not the end of the world, is it? Instead, just put your coupons away and hope a better one comes along. You won’t catch all of them, so there is no point in pouting. Instead, use your energy to find the next hot deal.
As you can see, you don’t need to be left high and dry when a hot sale arrives. Have your coupons clipped and ready and give these tips a try. Nothing is worse than finding a store has been cleared out of stock during a hot sale, so instead, be prepared and ready for the next one. These tips are easy to follow, and don’t require a huge deal of time or sacrifice.
Couponing can be complex enough. Don’t make it harder by worrying about empty shelves. Instead, follow these tips and be the first to score during those hot sales with coupons!
