Tanks are HYDRO'd at the factory as part of the manufacturing process. This is a DOT requirement. The date is stamped on the tank at this time.
So a hydro is included in the original purchase price.
The Visual Inspection is typically included, as it the first air fill often, but this all depends on the dive shop you buy it from.
If you buy the tank online, typically it'll come with the valve removed and no VIS inspection sticker. Or they might pressurize to about 40 pounds and ship with the valve on. (this is allowed under US Title Code). In that case they might put a vis sticker on it.
One more thing about hydro's. Don't expect the tank for sale to have a hydro date of the month you're buying it. It's fairly common for tanks at dive shops to have been made on average of 6 months or so beforehand. If they are close to 12 months or older, then I'd ask for a discount on the tank as it's been there a while and you can order a new tank with a newer hydro date for the same money (or less). I've even seen tanks is some "low volume shops" that had hydros that were 2 or 3 years since manufacturer. So this is buyer beware and educate yourself before buying.
If you see any "deal" on tanks, check the reason it's on sale. For example, Divers Direct often puts Faber (blue steel) tanks on sale for $250 bucks when they list price at $400. Sounds like a deal huh? it's because they are 12 months or more into the first hydro period. Sometimes this is advertised and sometimes it's not.
I think that any new tank needs visually inspected. like ScaredSilly made a reference to, they might say they are O2 clean, but I've found this to often be "not true". I've seen and bought new tanks that were stickered as "o2 clean from the manufacturer" only to have dust residue inside the tanks or a 'black grease/oil substance' in the threads. So there was no way they were clean, much less "o2 clean".
