It is amazing how expensive that stuff can be. :-(

Have you checked eBay?

E.g. 22U rack for $197 (38.5" of equipment mounting height)

18U rack for $106 (no casters) (31.5" of equipment mounting height).

Either of those things are likely not extremely strong (they need to be assembled), and you'd have to check carefully to see how many "cage nuts" (the captured nuts that mount in the vertical rails with the square cutouts) are included, etc., etc., but it might be a decent starting point.

The most recent small rack I bought was one of these. It was $489 in 2014. It's very strong and a beast of a thing (I mounted it on casters). But it's not what you're looking for. ;-)

Just another possible couple of options to think about.

Good luck!!

Cheers,
Scott.