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Just for completeness, the "free" converter box you are probably referring to was part of a coupon program offered by the federal government last year. The coupon would be good for up to $40 credit toward the purchase of a government approved converter box for older analog TVs (and most converter boxes happened to be priced around $40-$60). That program ended on July 31, 2009, so there are no more coupons available today.
Roughly 30% of American households (34.7 million out of 112.7 million households) took advantage of that program, redeeming approximately $1.39 billion worth of coupons.
All new TVs being sold must have a built in digital TV receiver in them and do not require a converter box, so the demand for converter boxes is going away quickly. Anyone who has recently replaced their analog TV with a new one will probably have a spare converter box lying around, which is why you might get lucky finding surplus boxes in places like craigslist or ebay.
Some retailers still carry some converter boxes (if you like the convenience of in-store purchase and returns), but they are still priced around $40-$60.
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