If anybody would like to have some whole cardamom pods just let me know They have a rather long shelf-life and I lucked-out and got two huge tins of them by error about a year back. Have only used a wee bit of it in a carrot cake recipe and have plenty to spare- for nothing- no $ needed. Would love to share before it loses it's "umph!".

there really is no substitute for cardamom - but depending on the recipe some will use allspice and cinnamon as a sub -

I found Spice Hunter ground cardamom and it was 13 bucks a bottle.
I bought it but was feeling bad about it.

We have Ground Cardamom here at Spice Place in a 1lb bottle. Yes, it's expensive and is usually purchased by bakers. It is an essential part of the classic Old Bay Seasoning.