If you go to some of the wreckers and tip shops ,the people behind the counter look the buyer up and down and then make up a price that they think you can afford ,so if you wear crappy old clothes you will get a cheaper price.
So I went to Sydney Tools to get some Gigweld 2.5 mm 2.5 kg rods for $24. but they had no stock on the shelf which is normal for trying to get consumables around here at most of the shops , ended up buying italco 2.5 mm 5 kg for $35.
I don't think these rods are as good as the Swec rods but they work ,next time I'll probably go back to Gigweld or Austark, may try Bossweld one day ,after buying the italco rods I found I still had one new box of 2mm x 2 kg of Swec .
I've tested the italco rods on some scrap galvanised steel below.
