You should look into local Facebook swap and sell groups. I'm sure there are groups in your area where people who aren't interested in getting much for their stuff are posting their stuff. A lot of technically inept people who only use Facebook post their items on there, probably because they don't know how to use ebay...
A friend of mine got a 50" TV for free through a Facebook swap and sell group because one of the bulbs was loose and it wouldn't turn on. Pretty simple to take the panel off and fix it. He also got a 5.1 speaker system for free that was brand new. Pretty good way to set yourself up inexpensively.