the best things in life are... free?

i like reading the 'free' postings on craig's list. some free things of note today included the left- pictured concrete chunks, electric cat litter box accessories, a bottle of "Log Cabin Country Kitchen" syrup, two cans of soup (one of them Campbell's Cream of Celery), a bottle of Seasoning salt, a package of ginger and a few other items, free macro algae, some "unique logs," a bolt of green fabric, a guinea pig, several pianos, a hot tub, and an "extremely sweet dog." in the bay area, it seems people can't get rid of things quickly enough; most ads are replete with multiple exclamation marks and threats like "one hour only!" or "i might have already taken everything to the dump if you don't hurry!"
interestingly enough, the free listings for france's craig's list numbers only EIGHT for the past month in the entire country. These amount to two beds, an old television set, a free ticket to poland in september (but it's something to the tune of you have to ride with this poor harried father and hold one of his babies in your lap), and a few ads for moving boxes. why write about this? why is it important? i can't exactly say. i'll have to do more research before making too many conclusions. but the only free listing in belgium is for a wish, and when you click the link you get a message that the posting has expired.