Should I list my couch on freecycle?

[JenJay]

DH and I just bought a new sofa. Yay! Our old sofa is dead. It has two small holes (smaller than a dime) where a dog chewed it, the cushions don't offer much support anymore and on one end the springs died and we actually had to stick some memory foam under the cushion so it didn't sag. It's a poor, old couch that cost quite a bit back in the day but that was 6 years and 3 moves ago.

That said it isn't smelly or gross. We don't smoke. We do have cats but I've always vacuumed the couch regularly. It's a huge sectional and one end is still quite comfortable so it feels wasteful to just toss it. I wouldn't ask anyone to pay for it but I thought maybe freecycle? The thing is, how do I describe it without insulting anyone who might be interested? I want to be honest that this thing has seen better days BUT I don't want to come across like "Hey if you're totally desperate I've got a deal for you!" 

Oh yeah, it's purple! Well, plum. It's a huge plum sectional that's dead on one end. Freecycle or dump? If it would be appropriate for freecycle how should I describe it? List pros and cons? I've never used the site before so any advice is appreciated!

[mmswm]

I have a teacher friend who would love to have the couch.  She teaches in a vocational school and one of the projects is furniture repair.  They're constantly looking for repairable but free stuff for the students to work on.  I say go ahead and post it.

[Momiitz]

I say post. Lots of people like to fix things up.

[otterwoman]

Go ahead and post it. Be honest about its condition, and how many people it will take to move it, how big a vehicle also. If someone wants it, they will respond. If no one responds, then you know to haul it to the dump.

[JenJay]

Well duh, I never even thought of all the people who have the skills to repair it. Thank you so much!!

[Slartibartfast]

Include a picture, and don't include a lot of detail: "Purple sofa.  It's seen better days, but we don't smoke and do vacuum up the cat hair regularly.  X feet long by Y feet high by Z feet deep.  Bring your own transportation and someone to help you move it."

[squeakers]

Go ahead and post it. Be honest about its condition, and how many people it will take to move it, how big a vehicle also. If someone wants it, they will respond. If no one responds, then you know to haul it to the dump.

^^This.

 A lot of our old couches have ended up being dog couches for friends (indoors and outdoors in kennels).  Sometimes just the cushions get used and the couches got burned (country living has its perks.)

[VorFemme]

If you leave the couch outside, the cushions may vanish.

A roofer told me that they "harvest" cushions from abandoned couches as the cheapest & easiest to use "safety" equipment to use on roofs.  Sitting on the things makes it almost impossible for you to slide off a roof (well, unless it is really steep, I suppose).  The cushions tear up and wear thin quickly due to the rough surfaces of shingles....but they can bump & slide their way from place to place on the roof quickly, without too much risk of continuing to slide - as soon as their weight hits the bare foam rubber cushion again, they STOP moving in a very short distance (a finger width or three, at most).

Me?  I'm 55 and I neither bounce nor heal as well as I did twenty years ago, I'm not going out on my roof (first or second story)!

[JenJay]

The couch is kind of kidney bean shaped and seats 5+ easily so the cushions are huge and rounded (except the center part which is square). They would make great dog beds! If nobody wants the couch I'll hold on to the cushions and re-list them alone.