First of all, not all breeders are selling for the price that ORA sells for.
Second, you would never have gotten a true captive bred kuda for $10 unless from a friend.
One of the reasons for the short life span was the source of the seahorses, plus the lack of proper care they need in most cases.
Now people are keeping seahorses for 5 yrs and more when properly maintained.
Dwarf seahorses though are still short lived at about 1 1/2 to 2 years usually.