Personal computers are always hot for the holidays, but not every shopper can swing the new Apple MacBook Pro with its fancy Touch Bar (starting price: $1,799) to bestow on a loved one.

In fact, some people have a holiday budget of $500, $100 or, effectively, $0.

This is a legitimate market, though, and several metro-area entities cater to such cash-strapped consumers in various ways. Buyers can even score a decent Apple MacBook notebook or iMac desktop for a nice price, if they’re lucky.

TECH DISCOUNTS

Nonprofit Tech Dump, which recycles and refurbishes PCs and other tech products in St. Paul and other locations, recently spun out a subsidiary of sorts that provides computer hardware and other gear to the public at low prices.

The sales had actually occurred for a while, said Tech Dump CEO Amanda LaGrange, but the name did not seem the sort to inspire confidence among consumers wanting to spend their precious dollars on home tech.

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St. Paul’s Tech Dump gives ex-cons a new lease, through work So Tech Dump conjured up a different name for its recently launched retail arm: Tech Discounts.

With locations in Bloomington and Golden Valley, the stores sell laptop and desktop computers at prices ranging from $100 to $1,000. Such computers include Windows and Macintosh variants.

For $99, a customer can snap up a Windows-based Asus, Acer, Toshiba or Dell laptop with 2 gigabytes of memory and A 120-gigabyte hard drive. Certain models are of the “convertible” variety with screens that can be folded back to use the computer tablet-style.

Tech Discounts as of last week also had a nice supply of always-in-demand Apple MacBook Air laptops, circa 2014, for $550. Those wanting to splurge could snap up a 2014 MacBook Pro with Retina display for $999.99.

The stores also sell smartphones, typically Apple and Samsung variants, and tablets. Last week, they had Apple iPad 4 models in stock. Flat-panel computer displays also are available.

A 30-day return guarantee and 90-day we’ll-fix-it-or replace-it warranty also are available. Nonprofit organizations making purchases get a $50 discount on computers.

One other reason to consider buying at Tech Discounts: Tech Dump provide jobs to people who have spent time in the justice system or “have other barriers to employment,” LaGrange noted. Shoppers “are supporting important job training.”

Tech Discounts, 724 W. 98th St., Bloomington, and 825 Boone Ave. N. Golden Valley. Phone: More info: techdiscounts.org

GCM INC.

An entity with a nondescript name and an equally unremarkable storefront on St. Paul’s West Side, GCM Inc. sells refurbished Windows PCs starting at $200 and going up to about $270.

The entry-level price typically gets buyers a Dual Core laptop with Windows 7, 2 gigs of RAM and 160-gig hard drives. Costlier versions have 1-terabyte drives and 6 gigabytes of RAM. The store had mostly Dell versions in stock last week. It doesn’t do Macs.

GCM throws in LibreOffice, a software productivity suite similar to Microsoft Office, and a 2-gigabyte assortment of older movies “in all kinds of genres,” said sales engineer Lee Flesher.

GCM’s customers are largely “older people or retired people” who are not very tech-savvy and just want to get on the Internet, he said.

GCM will not gouge customers on repairs even if they are past their 30-day return window and 90-day warranty. If it’s a simple repair, it’s on the house, Flesher said. More-complex repairs with replacement parts are kept as low as possible. Replacing a cracked screen costs $50, for instance.

“It’s not that big of a deal for us,” Flesher said.

GCM Inc., 708 S. Robert St., St. Paul. More info: 952-882-8500

PCs FOR PEOPLE

A St. Paul-based nonprofit, PCs for People typically doesn’t sell computers to the general public. It focuses more specifically on disadvantaged people meeting certain lower-income requirements, and offers them refurbished PCs (for free, in many cases) along with low-cost Internet access.

Still, PCs for People definitely qualifies as a holiday shopping destination under some circumstances, according to co-founder Casey Sorensen.

Those who pick up one of the nonprofit’s free computers can do with it what they like, such as use it as a gift. And since they’re allowed to snag three such computers, each at three-month intervals, they can keep one for themselves and give the other ones away (for the holidays, perhaps).

Immigrants will often ship their PCs for People computers overseas for use by relatives in their home countries, Sorensen said.

PCs for People has basic desktop PCs with the Linux Mint operating system for free and, slightly fancier Windows-based desktop PCs for $30, $50 and $100. Laptops go for $50, $100 and $150.

A midrange desktop PC with Windows will have an Intel Core i5 processor, 4 gigs of RAM and a 320-gigabyte hard drive, Sorensen said.

The store has been known to refurbish and sell Macs, but it doesn’t happen often.

PCs for People customers can stop by the store, where the PC refurbishing also occurs, or order PCs online. The nonprofit has customers in 45 states.

Computer displays also are available. Customers should be on the lookout for specials next week, such as 10 percent discounts on certain purchases, or hardware giveaways, according to Sorensen.

PCs for People, 1481 Marshall Ave., St. Paul. More info: 651-354-2552 or pcsforpeople.com