Marketplace comparison

The same hardware, four ways to buy it

You can buy the products we carry straight from the manufacturer in Europe, from us here, or through our storefronts on eBay and TikTok Shop. The prices differ, and not arbitrarily — each route carries a different set of costs. This page shows all of them, including the ones that are not money.

The short version

Buying direct from us is always the lowest all-in price. Marketplaces charge us a commission on every sale, and that commission is in the listed price. We list there because some buyers prefer the platform's protection, or already have a vendor record with it — not because it is cheaper for you. On the NovaCustom SecurityTitan V56 the difference runs to $749 — the platform's cut, plus the headroom a marketplace listing needs to absorb its own discounts and returns.

What each route actually costs you

Direct from the manufacturer

Lowest sticker price

  • The cheapest number you will see
  • Full custom configuration options
  • No middle party at all
  • You become the importer: duty, the customs-fee floor and brokerage land on you
  • Battery-containing devices often cannot ship to a US address at all
  • Your name and address go to a foreign company, under its jurisdiction
  • Returns cross an ocean

SecurityGadgets.shop (us, direct)

Best all-in price

  • No marketplace commission, so this is always our lowest price
  • Ships domestically — import already handled, no duty or customs paperwork for you
  • PO and Net-30 for procurement
  • Your data stays with us — no marketplace profile attached to the purchase
  • A store you have to trust directly, rather than a marketplace you already use

TikTok Shop

≈9% above direct

  • Buy inside an app you already use
  • Platform-side buyer protection
  • Checkout you already trust
  • Platform commission is priced in, so it costs more than buying direct
  • The platform sees the purchase and profiles it
  • Only part of the range is listed there

eBay

≈13% above direct

  • Established buyer protection
  • Familiar to procurement teams with an eBay vendor record
  • Offers and auctions on some listings
  • The highest platform fee of the three, and it is in the price
  • The platform sees the purchase
  • Only part of the range is listed there

Amazon

Planned

  • Fastest logistics expectations
  • Widest reach
  • Not yet a channel for the hardware we distribute
  • We do use Amazon affiliate links for brands we do NOT distribute — those are clearly marked as such

Live price comparison

Every product we currently list on a marketplace, priced side by side. Our column is our regular price, so the comparison is like for like; where a sale is running, today's lower price is shown beneath it.

Product Here (direct) eBay TikTok Shop Difference
NovaCustom SecurityTitan V56 $3,296 now $2,749 $4,045 $749
NovaCustom SecurityTitan V54 $3,256 now $2,695 $3,990 $734
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard V56 $2,085 now $1,729 $2,579 $494
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard V54 $2,025 now $1,679 $2,500 $475
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard NUC Box $1,467 now $1,259 $1,875 $408
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard SHIFTphone 8.1 $1,037 now $889 $1,275 $238
NitroPhone 5a $965 $725
Nitrokey 3A (No NFC) $90 $89
Nitrokey 3C (No NFC) $90 $89
Nitrokey Start $60 $69 $9
Nitrokey Passkey $60 $69 $9

Prices are our regular price against the current marketplace listing, so the difference reflects the platform's commission rather than any promotion. Where a sale is running here, today's price is shown alongside and is lower still. Our storefronts: CISO Marketplace on eBay · CISO Marketplace on TikTok Shop. These are the only marketplace listings we operate for these vendors — a listing from any other seller is not ours.

Why the European price is not the price you pay

A €65 security key is not a $65 security key, and the gap is bigger than the exchange rate. Three things sit between the two numbers.

1 · The currency, and the VAT inside it

European prices are quoted with 19% VAT already included. That VAT is not payable on an export to the US, so the honest starting point is the price with VAT removed, then converted — not the shelf price multiplied by the exchange rate.

2 · Getting it across the border

EU-origin goods currently enter at a 15% all-inclusive rate, plus a customs processing fee with a fixed floor, plus brokerage. On a real shipment of ours that totalled 18.5% of declared value.

See the full breakdown →

3 · Where it ships from

Nitrokey hardware is imported by us and held here. NovaCustom already operates a US warehouse in Michigan, so those ship domestically with no import step at all. Same European engineering, two completely different paths to your door.

The part that is not about money

People buying this category of hardware tend to care where their personal data ends up. It is worth being straight about how the routes differ.

Buying through a marketplace

The platform is party to the transaction. It knows what you bought, when, and where it went, and that purchase joins whatever profile it already holds on you. For most purchases that is unremarkable. For a Faraday bag, a hardened phone or a tamper-evident kit, some buyers would rather it were not linked to a social account.

Buying direct from us

We need a name, an address and a payment method to ship you a physical object — that is unavoidable. What we do not do is hand that to a marketplace's advertising graph. We are a US company under US law; see our privacy policy for what we hold and for how long.

Buying direct from a European manufacturer is a third case: the lowest sticker price, but your details sit with a foreign company under its own jurisdiction, and you handle the import yourself. That is a perfectly reasonable trade for some buyers. It is just not the same trade.