Plus O2 cleaning for nitrox, which is another $60. No reputable shop will VIP these tanks for Nitrox without doing an o2 cleaning.
And before anyone says it, its silly to invest in a brand new and and not have it ready for nitrox, even if you dont regularly dive nitrox. Contrary to popular belief, you can fill nitrox tanks with air so long as you are dealing with a reputable dive center that cleans their banks and air compressor
Not necessarily. It depends upon where the OP gets their nitrox fills. The majority of shops that fill with banked nitrox do not require O2 clean tanks, although a few do still require that O2 clean sticker. If filling via partial pressure blending, than yes, the tank and valve most definitely need to be O2 clean and maintained as such.
IMO ... IF you are buying a new tank that needs to be O2 clean, you should buy it from a shop that provides it with an O2 clean sticker. For example, DGX and Force-E here in South FL sell these tanks in the XS Scuba variety and provide them with an O2 clean VIP. The tank and valves are as O2 clean as they are ever going to be as they come from the manufacturer.