I've ridden Egg Beaters on my three bikes for about three years now. I wear the same shoes/cleats when I ride all three bikes. I commute to work 3-4 days per week, and ride some on weekends too. That said, I have never replaced my cleats, and never had trouble with the pedals. All three pairs of my pedals are the "original" egg beaters. I only clip out a handful of times per ride (not too many stoplights, etc.), and I don't have to walk much on the cleats. Maybe that accounts some for how long my cleats/pedals have gone with no problems.

Egg beaters are great pedals, in my opinion. Especially now that they can be found so inexpensively online. I paid $109 for my first pair. Last year I bought a pair for a gift for about $60.