Out of curiosity, I tried this last night. I didn't cut the drop bars, I simply placed some black electrical tape as a marker for where I would have cut them. Tried it out, played around with different hand positions, moved the tape marker around a bit, etc.

You're right. I could have saved 12 bucks. Oh well, at least all the original components are intact should I decide to return the little beast to the way I found it.