Wiper Blades
The high cost of the blades is probably because they survivor blades folks happen to have stashed away years ago. Now they want to sell them for as much as they can get.
As for the blades, just go to Amazon and type in windshield wiper blade refills in the search box. You will get a long list of different types of kits. I bought cueclue brand but have no idea how they will work. Kind of like buying a pig in a poke! May spray some water on the windshield today and turn the wipers on to see how they work.
Cost me $10.49 for four strips of blade material. Figure it cost me less than a dollar per blade.