"It's tempting to head up there and make a point of perusing the most expensive machine they have, and when the sales droid comes over to offer assistance, ask "How much for this machine without Windows 10?" - and if (as they inevitably will) they say it's not an option, tell them "in that case, you've lost a sale" and walk out."
Which will prove what, exactly?
Will it be Option 1: where the salesperson reports it to his manager, who phones head office, gets the buyers involved, they chase the manufacturer who consults with Microsoft over the wording of the contracts and hammer out a deal to get OS-less products made, all before lunchtime?
Or Option 2: The salesperson watches you walk away, serves someone else who understands that you go there to buy something they sell, not to invent something they don't, and later in the staff room recounts the tale of the plonker who wanted a laptop without Windows because he was one of those nerdy weirdos.
How much cost does Windows add to a laptop anyway?
And how much is a laptop subsidised by McAfee/Norton/Office Trials/photo editors /games/all the other shit that we all uninstall (if it's not erased for good by reinstalling another OS). Remember you won't get that subsidy if there's no OS to install the crapware on. Sony once suggested a $50 charge for a "clean" OS, which makes me think they get paid about that much for the bundling. If a volume licence of Windows costs less than $50 (which I can believe), then you'd actually pay MORE for a bare hard drive.....
Biting the hand that feeds IT
