I use a provocative title on this post, with perhaps not as much of a payoff as I'd like.

Nevertheless, I read this Motley Fool article today about the benefits of shopping late and thought it was worth a share.

The gist is that if you shop at night you can often get good deals because that's when things get marked down or thrown away--mostly perishable stuff like breads and meats. I recently got about 10 free bagels for showing up at a local bagel place as it was about to close. The Motley Fool discussion board participants had similar stories.

Someone also mentioned doing a little garbage picking at homes that have had garage sales earlier in the day or week, as most of the items not sold will find their way there. I was talking to a guy yesterday who told me he frowns on his wife's garbage picking--at least while he's in the car. But if she calls him on the phone having come across a particularly sweet piece of furniture sitting out on someone's lawn, he gives her much encouragement.