u/Akrostick

I'm a relatively new fencing in Sydney and have been trying to get my own weapon for some time now (I've been coasting on club gear). I've found both pistol and French grips to be not quite right and when I've used an Italian grip I've found it to be particularly comfortable. I've been doing some cursory research on how I could get my hands on an electric epee and found that basically everything is absurdly expensive before shipping. I'm a university student with a minimal budget. Does anyone have any advice on finding cheaper equipment in Australia? Does anyone have any advice on where or how I could get an Italian grip for a reasonable price after conversion to AUD? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated, thank you.