Because it effectively is. Between the discounted OEM pre-installed copy (effectively free to the casual user), the people happy enough with "Please activate Windows" in the corner and most functions working, and the "I found a deal on a legit activation key with a steep discount" crowd, very, very few people paid even a tenth as much as you.
But it’s not free. It’s some price included by manufacturers.
And I bought a copy at retail (for $120) because it was easier than going through their “you changed the hard drive and now have to find the key from years ago.” And it does the same thing.
> the discounted OEM pre-installed copy (effectively free to the casual user)
Not free; just hidden. The retail laptop models I looked at last month discounted the price exactly ₹10K (~ 120 USD) when I chose the no pre-installed OS option.
Because it effectively is. Between the discounted OEM pre-installed copy (effectively free to the casual user), the people happy enough with "Please activate Windows" in the corner and most functions working, and the "I found a deal on a legit activation key with a steep discount" crowd, very, very few people paid even a tenth as much as you.