Jeff, I know exactly what you mean...A friend of mine set a refrigerator out with a "free" sign on it and no one picked it up for 2 days. He put a sign on it for $25 and it disappeared in the middle of the night, LOL.
when it says "free" most folks think "broken" or "somethings wrong with it" ie its scrap metal junk only --- if it has a "price" its good or ok -- a sign saying "free and works " will move it just as well as a "price sign".