Seven ways to score big when stores go bust

Thinking of shopping that going-out-of-business sale? Read this Minyanville article before you plunk down your hard-earned cash for those "final sale" prices, which may not be all that good a deal:

"Thank you and farewell," read the somber subject line in my email. The sender was Smith & Hawken, purveyor of pricey garden tools.

I guess I lost that game of chicken. I'd been waiting for a mid-summer sale to replace my cheesy plastic garden chairs with some of that fancy teak "outdoor furniture" they sell… or used to sell.

Smith & Hawken, a subsidiary of Scotts Miracle-Gro (SMG), just bit the dust -- so to speak.
...
A shopping opportunity, you think? Maybe not. The "final liquidation sale" isn’t as enticing as it sounds. Especially right now, but more on that later.