You would be surprised what pops up on the local Freecycle web site in our area. A few years ago, my wife saw a listing for a free patio slider door that was removed from a new house because the owner wanted wooden french doors. We have a detached garage that's pretty dark inside, and I was thinking that a patio door in the side would lighten things up and also provide a side door. Long story short, the person giving away the door twisted my arm and also made me take a working full-size table saw...with dado blades and everything! We have used it for several projects around the house, and I can't believe that someone would give it away for free to complete strangers.
The bad thing about Freecycle is that certain items appear to be scooped up by small businesses before anyone else can ask about them. Things like lawnmowers are usually taken within 15 minutes of being posted, mostly going to lawnmower repair shops or people looking to fix them up for resale. We finally did get a lawn tractor after literally 25+ missed ones, but it is in rough shape and took a few trips to Tractor Supply to make functional. Bicycles seem to go quick as well, and I have yet to score one.
Long live the Great Material Continuum.....