Panasonic sent an email to Club Panasonic members Monday

Panasonic sent an email to Club Panasonic members Monday, extending a sale offering up to 40 percent off select Viera TVs -- including a 3D plasma model and LED-based LCD TV -- until Saturday. Included is the 60-inch ST30 model, cut by $1,260 to $1,340, with two pairs of 3D glasses thrown in. The 50-inch GT30 plasma was sliced to $1,105, a $795 discount, the email said, and the 50-inch S30 plasma TV was chopped from $1,099 to $634, it said. A 42-inch LED-based LCD E3 TV is $557, down from $950, Panasonic said. Club Panasonic is a free service consumers can sign up for to receive news on products and special offers. The sale prices came in under promotional prices of Panasonic dealer websites we viewed. Amazon’s and B&H Photo’s price for the 60-inch ST30 was $1,506, compared with Club Panasonic’s $1,340. B&H ran its price, after requiring consumers to add the TV to their shopping cart and log in, with the disclaimer: “This Item has a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) restriction set by the Manufacturer/Distributor that limits how we can display our selling price. The price above is our actual selling price.” Panasonic’s $1,104 price for the 50-inch GT30 undercuts the $1,199 price posted at Best Buy, Sears, Buy.com and Crutchfield. Club Panasonic is selling the 50-inch S30 for $634, compared with Abt Electronics’ $797 price, and Best Buy has the 42-inch Viera E3 LED TV at $699, compared with Panasonic’s $557.