There’s an old saying that presentation is everything. There’s a lot of truth to that, and it’s also true you can see some electronics presentations at their worst at Wal-Mart.

Recently, I went into a Wal-Mart to pick up some AA batteries. The electronics department is usually the best place to go for these because you’ll find choices not ordinarily seen in the front of the store.

In this department, the more expensive items are kept behind glass cases, and this obviously includes tablet computers. When I saw the tablets there, I was left with a feeling of disgust because of the way Wal-Marts puts displays together.

Every tablet had a layer of dust on them – behind the glass case, mind you. And you could tell whoever put the displays together just didn’t care at all. Some of the tablets sat half-cocked on their stands, some of the displays weren’t put together properly, and the whole thing was just a mess.

Yeah, I know, this is Wal-Mart I’m talking about, however these are items that sell for several hundred dollars. The impression I’m left with is, “If Wal-Mart doesn’t care about this ritzy tablet stuff, why should I?”

I remember a time when there were high-class electronics stores (like Tweeter out of Massachusetts) who genuinely cared about how to display high-ticket items. As a consumer, you felt better about spending a good amount of cash there because of the presentation. You felt like you were getting something special.

I also remember a time when Apple would’ve never even considered putting their merchandise in any department store that advertises “Always low prices”.

Wal-Mart has basically ruined any sense of wonder or magic about today’s tech. In addition to the shoddy tablet displays, I’ve also seen – and this is no joke – brand new laptops on display with broken keys on them, dented/damaged boxes of expensive electronics items, and so on.

I’m sure anyone who reads this could easily tell tales of the horrible way Wal-Mart displays their electronics merchandise.

As a consumer, I want to believe the prices modern tech is selling for is worth the price tag. But when you see how they treat expensive electronics at Wal-Mart, that $500 iPad looks like a $25 piece of junk that should be in a bargain bin.

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