Most retail shops 'cater to the ordinary'. That is, they look to volume sales to make their money, so they cater to the lowest-demanding buyer-groups. You generally find these shops in city centres or in shopping malls.
If you want something a little better, you have to go to specialty shops, who generally sell better stuff, but their prices are higher to make up for lower-volume sales. You generally find these shops in suburbs away from city centres. (These days, you'll more likely find these guys online.)
In some cases, you'll be dealing with the manufacturer himself, and generally online. (Ferinstance: Try the Lenovo website, find a system, and then take the opportunity to have that special system custom-specified by you.)
In all cases, you get what you pay for. There's the old triangle of Size, Cost and Quality - you get to select any two of those.
