I admit to having (ab)used the raincheck system on occasion. Most memorable was when my air drill (1/2" Husky, bought as clearance of a discontinued model around a year earlier, but with lifetime warranty) was in for repairs. I didn't know if it would be repairable, and Canadian Tire had a 1/2" Ingersoll Rand on sale for half off (had a limited warranty, I think it was one year). Naturally, my first choice was to get the repaired Husky back (due to lifetime warranty vs. limited), but this may not have been possible, and I wouldn't find out until the sale was over.
How did I handle this? Went to the Canadian Tire website, and did a stock lookup on the on-sale drill at nearby stores. Then I went to the only one nearby that the website showed as OUT OF STOCK, and asked to buy the drill. Naturally, they weren't able to find stock, and issued a raincheck (they offered to look up other stores nearby that had stock, but due to my motives I "was in a hurry and didn't have time to go to another store"). Turns out the Husky was repairable, so I never used the raincheck. I figured getting a raincheck as "insurance" was better than buying the drill and trying to return it if it turned out the Husky was repariable.
How did I handle this? Went to the Canadian Tire website, and did a stock lookup on the on-sale drill at nearby stores. Then I went to the only one nearby that the website showed as OUT OF STOCK, and asked to buy the drill. Naturally, they weren't able to find stock, and issued a raincheck (they offered to look up other stores nearby that had stock, but due to my motives I "was in a hurry and didn't have time to go to another store"). Turns out the Husky was repairable, so I never used the raincheck. I figured getting a raincheck as "insurance" was better than buying the drill and trying to return it if it turned out the Husky was repariable.
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