Product review (5 stars): AprilAire Filter
Works exactly as designed.

I'm not sure what people expect to pay for a filter like this but $9.00 each is not exactly highway robbery.  Have you ever bought an air filter for your car?  Manufacturers reap profit from consumables.  It's just the way it works. How much money do you think the manufacturer is making on those inexpensive ink jets?  They make the profits on the ink cartridges.

FWIW I always reset my control panel when it calls for a change and easily get 2 to 3 cycles out of each filter.  After each heating season I remove the plastic frame that the filter fits into and remove any scale buildup.