Good luck to the man in my view. If I put something up for free it would be because I couldn't be bothered to sell it, take it to the chharity shop or take it to the tip. Anyone taking it away would be doing me a favour. This guy took the chance that the crack was merely cosmetic so that was an investment of a sort. He also spent time and money going to collect.
If you want to be sure of something going to a worthy cause, take it to a charity shop (when they're open of course)