Become a moderator on the Dope. I hear they give them out. Ain’t nuttin’ really free, though.
You used to be able to buy SDMB mugs. I don’t remember how much they cost. I bought mine in the early 2000s. I have a T shirt around here somewhere too.
The moderator one says STAFF on it. That one costs you your soul and your sanity. Best to avoid it.
I’m pretty sure that’s done.
Also a lot of hours of tough, grueling labor.
I didn’t actual get a mug, as I already had bought one years ago. Actually that was the one I pulled out of the cabinet today.
Clarification, I left off a bit. I turned down the staff mug as there were so few left and I already had one.
Well, I’m gonna have to talk to my friend @Cecil_Adams about this.
Has anyone? 
I have a bunch of unmatched coffee mugs of miscellaneous origins, none of them purchased. My absolute favourite every-morning coffee mug is a whimsical cow mug given to me a long time ago by my lovely niece. Just a very practical mug with pictures of cows all over it. It’s become so closely associated over so many years with my morning coffee that I’d be devastated if I ever broke it.
Others are casual handouts from a former employer with various corporate or departmental logos on them and generic mugs of unknown origin that I’m sure I never bought.
My household is opposite. We have 6 oz coffee cups (I think people would call them tea cups) that we inherited with our old dish set. We make coffee in an insulated french press and it makes 6 of those cups. We can each sit and enjoy 3 “cups” of hot coffee while we read the paper. Even preheating a 12 oz mug, I find the coffee gets cold too quickly. That’s why the 6 oz is perfect.
Our larger mugs, all gifts, are used for tea. Boiling water poured directly in the mug, then teabag. Hot the whole duration.
It is a good idea to check used coffee mugs and dinnerware for lead. The test kits with 60 swabs are under $20. It’s worth it for peace of mind.
My favorite mug came from my college bookstore. It has the school name and mascot. I used it for a couple years until the glazing inside cracked. I was worried the bare pottery might leach into my coffee. I retired that mug and it sits on a shelf in my home office.
Most of the (innumerable) mugs in our house just kind of migrated in. I think the last one I paid money for was my favorite, a 16 oz dB’s band mug that I bought to replace the one I broke years ago.
If I thought I could package and ship a mug to you for less than $20, I would.
I still have my staff whiskey mug.
Those are nice mugs!
I like them! You can find them on Amazon by searching for double-walled glass mugs. The glass also shows off a neat layering effect when making a latte (sometimes):
I did not specifically create those layers! It’s just foamed milk poured into coffee. The layers form by themselves.
There’s a neat scientific explanation for the layers.
Oh. Huh.
We have a cabinet full of mugs. I’ve got three that were made by a local potter as a fundraiser for my school. They were like $20-$25 apiece, and they’re lovely, decorated with flowers and bees. My older daughter, a gloriously snarky budding ornithologist, has two or three bird-themed ones (“Calm your tits” and “attempted murder”) that we paid $15 or so for. My younger daughter, obsessed with budgies, has a budgie mug or two, and we probably paid the same. My wife has a hand-crafted mug from a local craft guild, and I’d be surprised if it were less than $30. And we have an assortment of others.
I had no idea we were weird. At least, not in this regard.
Since we’re talking about coffee mugs, allow me a brief airing of grievance.
If you run an Air BnB or VRBO rental property, please stock the kitchen with a variety of different coffee mugs.
Thank you. Carry on.
mmm
We have some of the Starbucks’ Been There mugs from my home town. According to Amazon they each cost 33 USD. I think I need to stop buying mugs.
On the other hand, we have a number of Starbucks’ mugs that my dad picked up from Goodwill for a buck or so. And I have one mug from Prague that probably cost me about 3 USD.
Unfortunately the one from Prague has a small chip out of if, and I can’t find another online. Might have to go back to Prague to replace it. Which makes the mug a bit more expensive. 
I would argue that those are the places that should be buying up used mugs instead of buying whatever is the latest fashion.
We did go to an Air BnB in Amsterdam where he only had the Bodum double-walled glasses (0.45 l, link), for both cold and hot drinks. We really liked those.
Coffee mugs are something you wanna buy locally, not online.
And coffee mugs are like T-shirts. If you just want plain and functional, go cheap. But many people get them as souvenirs or gifts or because they find a particular one to be cute or funny or aesthetically appealing.
Haven’t bought a coffee cup in decades.
I recently filled a box with old coffee mugs and thrifted it. I kept a few sentimental ones from Ma and Pa, a few with logos from old jobs even my CWA local 3122 made the cut. I kept a few silly ones, gotta keep the naked&baked skier cup! and of course the handmade ones even if chipped or cracked as I find other uses for those.
Often Amazon isn’t the best, or even the cheapest, place to buy things. A large chunk of their market share is because of the convenience. Once I decided to buy my BIL a collection of hot sauces for Hanukah. I took a peek on Amazon and they were running upwards of $10 for a small bottle! That was when I decided to walk 2 blocks to my local Mexican grocery, where there was an entire wall of salsas for a tiny fraction of that price, and pick out a bunch and wrap them up in a basket. He was thrilled.
Any place that sells kitchenware should have what you are looking for. I am not sure what you mean by straight-sided vs. curved, or just how straight you need it to be, but here’s one of many examples from Crate & Barrel for under $5. Or hey, one with cute reindeer on it for a buck more!
This. I have three 16oz ceramic mugs (simple cylinders with a bottom and a rounded handle) at work that I bought for $1 each ten years ago. Hundreds of uses and not a single chip.
Some mug’s lips curve outward.
Ah, gotcha. Anyway, you still have lots of options!