Amazon, Best Buy lower prices on Samsung 3D LED HDTVs

Read into it whatever you want, but I couldn't help but notice that Best Buy was offering $260 in savings off the $2,599.99 list price for Samsung's 46-inch UN46C7000 3D LED HDTV in its Sunday circular this week. A quick search on BestBuy.com showed that set's 55-inch 3D sibling was on sale for $330 less than the $3,299.99 list price.

Because it seemed a little curious that such a buzz-worthy offering that debuted just weeks ago was already marked for a price cut, I checked out the prices on Amazon.com as a comparison. Incredibly enough, the UN55C7000 was priced even lower than at BestBuy—#$2,659, or $310 less—while the 46 incher was just $1,999. (BTW, you can only see these prices by adding the set to your cart and then proceeding to checkout.)

Did Samsung produce more 3D units than Panasonic, which had announced earlier that it had sold out its initial offering of 3D plasmas, and haven't found enough interested buyers yet? Regardless, Samsung is one of those manufacturers that polices its Minimum Advertised Prices (or MAP) closely, so the price drop presumably has the company's blessing. With Sony and LG readying 3D HDTVs of their own for release in the next couple of months, it may not be a bad time for Samsung to adjust its pricing to face the increased competition.