Note that the coreboot that NovaCustom uses is not the same coreboot that Purism or System76 is using. It's Dasharo coreboot. This is not free (as in price). NovaCustom has to pay for a license. How much of that cost is reflected in high price tag for NovaCustom. Maybe it is not much.
If the purchaser does not want Dasharo, they can usually compile their own non-Dasharo coreboot and flash it themselves.
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