I just picked up a handful of OA welding rod at the local welding eq.
 supplier.  Paid $18 for nothing but a bundle of clean shiny  1/16" steel
 wires, but then I read the fine-print on the invoice and saw I was
 charged a $3.50 HazMat fee ?????

 That little bundle of wires is no more hazardous than a box of nails
 or a chocolate donut!  Did I just get ripped off, or is everybody getting
 ripped off?

 R Berglund

 If you are not in California as I am, you need to understand that the
 libs in your state learned from the libs here in Cali. So yes, we
 here in CA have been getting ripped for a very LONG time, taxed on every
 imaginable over the counter item, including welding stuff. Now that the
 EPA has officially called Co2 a pollutant, look out; and please, for
 the sake of this, the greatest country to have ever existed,  Don't
 Follow California on anything political.

 Ed Carver

 Kind of like the "shop supplies" line on your auto repair even if it was an
oil change. Or the utilities charging an accounting fee. The profit made on
the product or service is not enough. Just keep your pants on when
you bend over!

Dale Davies


Or "the Pack" when you buy a new car ..... paint sealer, upholstery
protector, pin stripes etc, all designed to line the dealers pocket
with your dollars!

S Dore