Chrome Unboxed constantly updates what they feel are the best deals today on Chromebooks:

https://chromeunboxed.com/the-best-chromebook-deals-today-updated/

They tend to focus on the new Chromebook Plus models, which have better specs than the basic models that most of us here are used to (I just bought my first Chromebook Plus recently), but they do occasionally list more basic models also.

They mostly recommend deals from Best Buy and WalMart (I know that you don't like WalMart) and the manufacturer. They don't recommend buying from Amazon because you can't really be sure what you are buying because of all the third-party sellers and the way things are listed.

One suggestion: Try just going to the Best Buy website and doing a search to see what's on sale. They may have more basic Chromebooks (if that's what you want) on sale that Chrome Unboxed isn't interested in listing on their site.

One thing I noticed this past holiday season is that for the first time, I didn't come across any outrageous Chromebook Black Friday deals like I have in the past, such as a basic Chromebook for $100 or under.