Best Buy, Amazon continue early Black Friday deals, Walmart offers free shipping

If you're shopping for a TV—or other other electronics items—this weekend, take note of the continuing early Black Friday sales being offered by two big retailers, Amazon and Best Buy.

And if you've been eyeing a deal you've seen at Walmart, which has been offering some low-priced TVs, be aware that the nation's largest retailer just rolled out a free-shipping offer on almost everything its online store sells, including TVs.

As part of its ongoing Gold Box early Black Friday sales, Amazon's deal-of-the-day special today is a 42-inch Panasonic Viera 1080p plasma TV (TC-P42G25), part of its G25 series sets that include the company's Viera Cast online service and built-in Wi-Fi. (The 46-inch GT25-series set is included in the latest Consumer Reports TV Ratings, available to subscribers.) Those fast enough to catch an early Amazon "Lightning Deal" could get a Panasonic Blu-ray player (DMP-BD45) for just $80. (That model is in the CR Blu-ray Player Ratings, also available to subscribers.) Remember that lightning deals are available only for a limited time, and while Deals of the Day are typically offered for the entire day, they'll end if the store sells out of its supply.

For complete details about Amazon's early Black Friday deals, visit its Gold Box website.

Kicking off its second week of "Buy Early, Save Big" Black Friday specials, Best Buy entices in-store shoppers today and tomorrow with a $400 40-inch 1080p Toshiba LCD TV (40FT1U). There's also a dual-core HP laptop (G62-364DX) for $400. The AMD Turion-powered computer is apparently a Best Buy exclusive.

Visit Best Buy's Buy Early site to get complete details of its sale, and check back regularly as supplies are often repleneshed during the day.

As for Walmart, the mass merchant says it will offer free shipping—with no minimum purchase—on most of the 60,000 items it sells via Walmart.com, including TVs, which have been a big part of Walmart's early Black Friday promotions. Not covered by the offer are Apple iPods and iPads, and products sold by third-party retailers through Walmart's Marketplace. The free shipping offer, which runs though December 20, is an adjunct to the company's free ship-to-store program, where there's no charge if you buy something from the company's website and pick it up at the nearest retail store.

Let us know if you're taking advantage of any of these early Black Friday specials, or if you're waiting to see if prices will be even sweeter when the actual day arrives. We'll continue to monitor the ads to determine the best deals.

—James K. Willcox