Since Craigslist launched the ‘free’ section of their site in August 2003, it has become the third most visited section under Craigslist’s ‘for sale’ category. Every month the freebie site has an estimated 8.7 million pages views, behind `cars and trucks’ and `furniture,’ according to Marcia Estarija, Community Relations Manager.

Craig Newmark, the Craig in Craigslist, isn’t surprised by the popularity of the freebie section.

“There are plenty of people who are willing to accept things that are free, there are lot of people that need a break, and a lot of people willing to give them one,” he says.

He believes that there are a number of reasons why people give things away for free. “Some people just hate waste, some people want to do something good with their stuff,” he says.

Or sometimes it’s fear. Like the cursed set of prosthetic legs given away in San Francisco after they injured their owner, or the posting that began, “one free fish. (warning - he is a wanker)” and went on to explain, “People, I am afraid for my other fish. I am vegetarian so I can't bring myself to just flush his bully ass.”