My impression is that many of the entities that rent IPs are shady VPN providers, spammers, and the like -- the reputational damage that the IPs will suffer dur

My impression is that many of the entities that rent IPs are shady VPN providers, spammers, and the like -- the reputational damage that the IPs will suffer during the lease term is priced in. The blocks that sell for $20-24/IP are relatively "clean" in comparison.