That does seem high? I am in the Dallas Fort Worth area and there is a person that orders the 1.2's from them(20 or so at a time). He sold me mine for 150.00. Spend a day and drive down here to pick one up????
I used the 2 inch rigid and it is very strong, I think I got it at Home Depot for around 40 bucks. http://www.alliedtube.com/electrical-raceways/conduit/galvanized-rigid-conduit.asp