I’m a little late to this thread but wanted to throw in my two cents for anybody else who might come by.
I know it’s hard for a lot of people to find a good selection of entry-level ukes locally, so online might be the only option. I’ve tried a lot of the beginner ukes for sale around the internet (mostly Amazon) and have to admit a lot of them are pretty good. Lohanu, Hricane, and Donner stand out as three brands that offer the best bang for the buck. All of these models were under $100 and included a gig bag, tuner, strap, and extra strings.
If anybody’s interested, this article on the best beginner ukuleles is a solid starting point.