have a look at the UK and French Ikea websites for this item:
carbon filter for cooker hood Item : NYTTIG FIL 559
£30 in the UK (and that is expensive) but 65€ here in France.
That is taking the ..........buiscuit
You can always find differences like this, because the cost of running a business in France is much higher than in the UK. You might have found this item even cheaper in the USA. But if you are looking for social housing or medical care, then France is the place to be. And if you had worked in France, you would be getting a state pension that it is just possible to live on.
Overall, we find the cost of living is slightly lower in France than in the UK. Local taxes, electricity, wine, coffee are all cheaper. And you can even get a little bit of interest on your savings.
On the minus side, if you have to go into an old people's home because you can no longer care for yourself, the cost will come out of your estate when you die and if that doesn't cover it, they will pursue your children for the rest.
So it all comes down to swings and roundabouts. And you have to ask yourself, how often do you need a carbon filter for a cooker hood?
Do what we used to do on submarines, if it is carbon drill the rivets out and bin the old carbon, replace it with new activated carbon. if it is foam just buy some replacement foam and cut to fit. simple and easy safes a fortune.
Back in the UK the one time I changed the filter (only because it was dripping grease - yuk) I just went to Hombase and got one that you just trimmed to size.
IIRC about a fiver.
For many years, I used to work for a company that sold kitchens and appliances. I remember managers telling me that, although they sold thousands of extractors, no-one ever bought a replacement filter. And it's not surprising at £30+. Maybe there's a niche in the market..?