Walmart preps price cuts on Vizio HDTVs starting this weekend

There’s been a lot of talk this year about Black Friday coming earlier than the day after Thanksgiving, as well as the prices of HDTVs being ready to plunge this holiday season due to high inventories caused by slack consumer demand. Here’s one of our first signs of both coming to fruition: Walmart is holding a sale on Vizio sets starting this weekend.

Vizio has rocketed to popularity by offering affordable sets that are a step up from the TVs created by third-tier cheapo manufacturers, so will Walmart’s new prices be even more enticing? The retailing mega-giant is going to slash $100 off the M260VA, a 26-inch LED-backlit 720p LCD that it currently sells for $298, along with $50 cuts on a 32-inch 720p model (now $298) and the 42-inch 1080p E420VO (now $498).

If you want a bigger set and are willing to spend over $500, there’s the 47-inch E470VL (1080p, 120Hz refresh rate), which gets a $100 price cut to $698, while the 55-inch E550VL (also 1080p, 120Hz) sees a reduction of $200 to $898. That price on the E550VL is far cheaper than you can currently find on Amazon.com ($1,127.97), and a 55-inch set for under $900 is a definite impulse purchase possibility for those shopping for a big-screen TV.

The new prices will take effect at 8 a.m. this Saturday and run through Sunday, which gives online retailers a couple of days to decide if they want to match these prices or let Walmart win the first battle of the HDTV holiday shopping season.