It is sad, but people will argue about the price of a tank, and the snake become secondary. I say this having adopted (and in more than a few cases rescued) snakes that the owner haggled over the price of the enclosure but the snake was not a concern.
The enclosure usually ends up on CList for around 20.0 - 40.0 bucks. You ever need HUGE tanks, let me know. I got a storage room full of them. I can barely give them away.
And if it sounded harsh it was not meant to be.
My first snake Ash, a sweet normal male was a newspaper adoption. Best 50.0$ I ever spent. He passed (too many years of bad husbandry to be fixed) but he taught me everything I ever needed to know about BPs and 45 snakes later he is still my best boy.
Glad you got a good snake, and glad he got an attentive keeper.
Nothing like a new snake.
Bruce