I have a problem. I can't remember the last time I went to bed before 1:00 in the morning. I'm not an insomniac; in fact, I'm usually very tired by the time 1:00 rolls around, but I still can't make myself go to sleep before then. Why? The easy answer is just one word long: woot.

Woot.com is a website that sells just one item per day. Well, they sell many of the item - usually a gadget, gizmo, or other piece of deeply discounted techie paraphernalia - but they only sell one product a day, and they sell that product until their stock of that item is exhausted, or until 12:59 the next night, whichever comes first. That's where my late night dilemma arises. At 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the product day rolls over, revealing a new toaster, two-way radio watch, or blender with LCD. Oh, and shipping, whether the item sold is a watch or a wide-screen TV, is $5 (in the continental US).

Along with the great deals, Wooters get painfully witty product descriptions, a spirited forum for discussing the latest woot ("I stayed up for this?" is a favorite early morning posting), and a customer service policy that can be described as irreverent at best. My favorite, from their FAQ:

Will I recieve customer support like I'm used to?
No. Well, not really. If you buy something you don't end up liking or you have what marketing people call "buyer's remorse," sell it on eBay. It's likely you'll make money doing this and save everyone a hassle. If the item doesn't work, find out what you're doing wrong. Yes, we know you think the item is bad, but it's probably your fault. Google your problem, or come back to that product discussion in our community and ask other people if they know. Try to call the manufacturer and ask if they know. If you give up and must return it to us, then follow on to the next FAQ entry.

In addition, the site puts out a daily podcast (they call it a wootcast) that serves little purpose other than to entertain. The result is a buying experience that is relaxed, impulsive by nature, and even ... fun. But it's also addictive.

Now no one's holding a gun to my head, making me stay up to see the newest woot (as they're referred to) right at 1:00 a.m., but that's not to say I don't have a reason to do so. You see, if I wait to check the site until, say, 8:00 the next morning, I run the risk of missing a spectacular deal.

Even more daunting is the prospect of missing one of Woot's most beloved features, a brusquely named grab bag. Why would anyone want that? At Woot, the purchaser of a grab bag is guaranteed two things: a bag of some sort, and three items that would otherwise be taking up space in Woot's warehouse.  Sometimes the items are working, sometimes not, but there's always the possibility (perceived or actual) of getting something really great. Oh, and Woot sells its special grab bags for $1, plus the standard $5 shipping. Needless to say, when Woot offers one, it usually stays around for only a matter of minutes before selling out. That means that any truly devoted Wooters have to be burning the midnight oil (or 10:00 p.m. oil on the West Coast) if they want a shot at the hot ticket item.

But even on regular Woot nights, the site's popularity can catch up to it. A small operation when it was launched in July 2004, Woot is now a poorly kept secret that boasts nearly 300,000 registered users. It's not uncommon for an item to sell out in the early morning hours, which can be frustrating, especially when the deal is really great. Of course, from a business perspective this is no problem at all. Woot's model allows it to run very efficiently, keeping costs down by stocking one item instead of thousands like Amazon, streamlining shipping, and passing the savings on to buyers.

Besides the "One Day, One Deal" model that is the site's tagline, Woot offers a few occasional variations. A "Woot-off" is Woot's way of accomplishing spring cleaning. On Woot-off days, the site converts to selling one item until it sells out, moving on to another item, selling it until it's gone, and so on, until they decide to stop. A Woot-off in February went on for 44 hours, through a range of 63 sales. Additionally, a Woot Launch happens when a product manufacturer teams up with Woot to offer a gadget for the first time, giving customers a break from the steady stream of oft-lamented refurbished items.

If there can be any downfall to Woot, it's found in something Yogi Berra once said: "No one goes there anymore - it's too crowded." As the site's popularity grows, its challenge will be finding wholesale lots of products in quantities that can satisfy its growing user base without selling out in less than an hour. Like a hot restaurant, Woot runs the risk of becoming a victim of its own success. It won't have lines stretching out the door and onto the sidewalk, but if it continues to grow, it may have thousands of sleepy users frustratingly clicking away while overloaded servers struggle to keep up.