Need Deals On Electronics? St. Paul, Minneapolis Refurb Shops Have Them.

Need Deals On Electronics? St. Paul, Minneapolis Refurb Shops Have Them.

Looking to buy a last-minute laptop or other digital device for cheap as the holiday shopping season wanes?

Steer your car away from pricey Apple stores and plunge into the depths of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Unsung outposts have dispensed refurbished hardware there for years.

Each location has its quirks, but happily will set you up with a machine to last you for years at a nice price.

Repowered

You struggle for the right word when you enter Repowered’s small retail store on St. Paul’s Vandalia Avenue and look around. And then, with the snap of a finger, you have it: “boutique.”

This is the most elegant part of a larger operation, which includes recycling and refurbishing operations. The Repowered retail store sometimes deals in oddities, such as a classic Altair 8800 from the 1970s, but it more often just wants to sell you an ordinary computer — it has lots of those, of both the PC and Mac varieties, with prices starting in the $200s.

Repowered is also notable for its banks of shiny audio receivers and scuffed-up wooden speakers: It has set up a receiver with a numbered switcher for trying out multiple speaker sets with the touch of a button.

Random recent items on the homepage included a Yamaha programmable digital synthesizer, a Nintendo 64 console bundle, and a Tandy 102 Portable Computer from the 1980s.

Repowered: Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. the second and fourth Saturdays of the month, 860 Vandalia St., St. Paul; getrepowered.org, 763-314-1287

PCs for People

Unlike Repowered, this St. Paul organization doesn’t offer walk-in technology-shopping privileges. To place an order, customers must be registered with a government-based assistance program or have a qualifying household income.

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

Those who pick up one of the nonprofit’s computers can do with it what they like. And since they’re allowed to snag up to five such computers, at regular intervals, they can keep one for themselves and give the other ones away (to their children or other relatives for the holidays, perhaps).

Windows laptops start at $50. Desktops are $30 with Windows and free with Linux. Internet access is $80 for a hotspot portable device and $15 a month for the service. PCs for People also operates in Mankato and eight other U.S. locations.

PCs for People: pcsforpeople.org, 651-354-2552, 2492 Doswell Ave., St. Paul

Free Geek

Similar to Repower, Minneapolis-based Free Geek aims to keep e-waste out of the landfill. But it is possibly more aggressive in reselling its refurbished tech in its thrift store.

While Empower dabbles a bit with vintage computers, they’re an entire category for Free Geek. If you lust after a classic Apple or Macintosh computer, this is a good place to visit. “Modern” PCs and Mac are on offer, too.

iPhones are a problem, though. They are difficult to resell because of passwords and security locks on them, a problem all refurbishers run into.

Free Geek staffers and volunteers work in teams to fix up just about any piece of electronics imaginable — such as VHS players. The joke is that only a hairdryer would get rejected because of all the follicle residue.

Free Geek: Open noon to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, noon to 5 p.m. Thursdays and noon to 6 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 2537 25th Ave. S., Minneapolis; freegeektwincities.org, 612-223-5967

SOURCE: Twin Cities Pioneer Press