I got my current bike because I wanted to buy a nice bike but didn't have the money for a nice roadbike. 700 bucks will get you a nice fixed/single speed whereas a geared bike of comparable quality was out of my price range.

Whether it was fixed or freewheel wasn't a big concern, in fact that shop simply had the flip flop set up for fixed when I picked the bike up and I ended up liking it, hence I've been riding fixed ever since.