Memorabid is an official auction house, duly registered as such with the Italian Chamber of Commerce. Here you will find everything you need to buy with confidence: the two auction types, the certificates, how we verify autographs, and how bids, reserves and the timer work.
Every lot on Memorabid belongs to one of two sections, recognisable at a glance by their colour.
The auction house guarantees every aspect of the item as described in the listing, including its authenticity. All the items in this section are stored in the Memorabid warehouse and photographed by our in-house team.
As these items are not in the physical possession of Memorabid's professionals, the auction house cannot guarantee the absolute authenticity of every specific characteristic. Our team still reviews and approves every seller and every listing in advance, and rejects listings with formal issues, evident authenticity concerns or poor photos and descriptions.
| Memorabid Auctions | Marketplace Auctions | |
|---|---|---|
| Who lists the lot | The auction house | An approved collector |
| Where the item is | Already in the Memorabid warehouse | With the seller until the lot is won |
| Photos | Taken by the Memorabid team | Uploaded by the seller, checked by the team |
| Authenticity | Guaranteed by the auction house | To be assessed by the buyer; seller and listing are approved in advance |
| Questions about the lot | To the Memorabid team | To the seller via internal messaging, moderated by the team |
| Certificate at checkout | COA · €25 | COO · €19 |
| Who ships the lot to you | Memorabid | Memorabid, after the consistency check |
An extra safeguard for Marketplace Auctions: every item is shipped to you directly by Memorabid. Once the lot is won, the seller sends it to us and our team checks that it matches everything described and shown in the listing.
For winners of a Memorabid Auction, at checkout, for €25. An official document guaranteeing the item's authenticity and that it matches everything described and shown in the auction.
For winners of a Marketplace Auction, at checkout, for €19. It guarantees that the item was bought at auction on Memorabid.
Both certificates are linked to a serial code and a pair of NFC tags:
Tap your smartphone to open the digital version of the certificate, with all the product images and its description.
Every autographed item on Memorabid goes through a meticulous verification and authentication process. Each autograph meets at least one of these three criteria.
It shows the exact moment the item was signed.
The item comes straight from the athlete, the club or the federation.
Issued by an internationally recognised authority such as Beckett, PSA/DNA or JSA.
Before the auction, the autograph is analysed by a Forensic Graphologist registered with A.G.I. (Associazione Grafologica Italiana) and A.G.P. (Associazione Grafologi Professionisti), the only Italian graphology associations recognised nationally by CoLAP. We chose this expert because they are impartial, with no commercial ties or conflicts of interest in the memorabilia market.
Memorabid is not exclusively a charity auction house, but it is also a charity auction house. It manages this side with transparency, fairness and full disclosure towards users and Third Sector Organisations.
The only deduction from the funds raised is the service fee, with no exceptions. The 15% covers auction management, user support, payment collection, administration and logistics. There are no partial amounts allocated to charities. Funds reach the organisation 16 days after the winner has received the shipment.
The service has a fixed fee, agreed by contract in advance with the organisation according to the size of the event, just like catering or venue hire. Whether the event raises €100 or €100,000, the cost stays the same. Funds reach the organisation 16 days after the last lot shipped has been received. Discover MemorabidNOW
Our business model is consistent with the principles of transparency introduced by Italian Law No. 120 of 15 July 2026, on the allocation of proceeds from the sale of products and on promoting and strengthening consumer trust in the charitable activity of Third Sector Organisations.
Memorabid has signed the Manifesto promoted by Italia non Profit, which brings together companies and Third Sector Organisations committed to partnerships built on transparency, integrity, responsibility and mutual trust. For us it is not a formality: it is part of how we work.
You can browse the complete list of closed auctions and send a direct purchase offer to the winner, for an amount equal to or higher than the hammer price, with Memorabid's protection and mediation. If an auction did not reach its reserve, you can send the offer to the seller.
And when you win, the platform collects future offers for your item on your behalf, automatically and with no commitment. If you accept, the lot comes to us for a consistency check against the original auction before it reaches the new buyer.
Your bid immediately becomes the highest.
Set a maximum amount: the system outbids any other user by the minimum increment, up to your maximum. If your maximum is above the reserve and the auction closes below the reserve, you win with a bid equal to the reserve price.
Demo example with a €100 starting price and a €10 minimum increment.
The reserve is the minimum value chosen by the seller to complete the sale: below this amount the lot is not automatically sold.
The timer shows how long is left until an auction opens or closes. If someone bids when less than a minute is left, the timer is extended by another minute: just like a traditional auction with an auctioneer, everyone interested always gets the chance to make a last-second bid.
To bid you need to register a credit card as a guarantee, with no charge. Stripe handles it: Memorabid never stores or collects card details.
After winning you have 48 hours to complete the payment. After that, we charge your registered card through Stripe. Payments and shipping
Memorabid Auctions (gold) are promoted and authenticated by the auction house: the items are already in our warehouse and we photograph them. Marketplace Auctions (blue) are listed by approved collectors: we review seller and listing in advance, but buyers must assess the item's characteristics themselves.
The COA (Certificate Of Authenticity) for Memorabid Auctions costs €25; the COO (Certificate Of Origin) for Marketplace Auctions costs €19. You request them at checkout.
Each autograph must meet at least one of three criteria: photo or video proof, direct provenance from the athlete, club or federation, or a Beckett, PSA/DNA or JSA certificate. If none applies, a Forensic Graphologist registered with A.G.I. and A.G.P. analyses it, and it goes to auction only if judged genuine.
In auctions marked “Charity initiative supporting…”, 85% of the proceeds go to the charity and 15% covers Memorabid's service. With the MemorabidNOW silent auction the charity receives 100% of the funds, because the service has a fixed fee.
Enter a maximum amount and the system bids for you, outbidding any other user by the minimum increment up to your maximum. If your maximum is above the reserve and the auction closes below it, you win with a bid equal to the reserve price.
The highest bidder receives a notification and an email revealing the reserve, and has 48 hours to decide whether to match it and win the lot.
If someone bids with less than a minute to go, the timer is extended by another minute, so everyone interested can respond, just like an auction with an auctioneer.
The card acts as a guarantee and is registered with no charge through Stripe. It is charged only if you do not complete payment for a lot you won within 48 hours.