whenever I travel to foreign countries I notice that due to market conditions in the US, I'm rarely able to purchase something outside of the US for less than it costs here. Its been a while since I checked, so my data is old, but helmets were one of those rare exceptions. They seemed to cost less elsewhere, presumably because the lawsuit threat in the US added a premium above and beyond the manufacturing costs.There was a study published in the UK about a year ago on various makes and their correlating real-world safety rating vs price. One of the premium brands seriously under-performed on the SHARP testing in the UK, it was bested or matched by several sub-$100(US) helmets.
The science behind helmet design is fairly mature in 2015. How much labor and materials are in any helmet, anyway? $25-$40 is being generous, based on my background in manufacturing.