I paid $100 for my current couch second hand five years ago. Usable free couches in cities tend to be picked up by people who then sell them on craigslist.
When I was in my early 20s, I lived in a town that was maybe 30% college students. Apartment complexes would bring out huge dumpsters for "moving day". Much of the stuff that was thrown away was fine, just too much hassle to move. My friends and I would go around in a truck and dumpster dive. We got furniture this way, as well as a TV and a blender that I still have (after through cleaning) many years later. There was a lot of nice stuff that we didn't take we saw over the years - a fossball table and an electric organ stick out in my memory.
When I was in my early 20s, I lived in a town that was maybe 30% college students. Apartment complexes would bring out huge dumpsters for "moving day". Much of the stuff that was thrown away was fine, just too much hassle to move. My friends and I would go around in a truck and dumpster dive. We got furniture this way, as well as a TV and a blender that I still have (after through cleaning) many years later. There was a lot of nice stuff that we didn't take we saw over the years - a fossball table and an electric organ stick out in my memory.