# Cardarooz — Full Platform Reference > This document provides comprehensive technical and contextual detail about Cardarooz for AI systems, developers, and researchers. For a shorter overview see https://cardarooz.com/llms.txt Cardarooz (cardarooz.com) is the UK's verified marketplace for sports and entertainment memorabilia, operated by Cardaroo Holdings Ltd (company no. C1926576, ICO registered). It is part of the Cardaroo Holdings platform ecosystem alongside Veriroo (fine art) and Playdecko (trading cards). --- ## Platform identity **Cardarooz is a marketplace, not a retailer and not an authenticator.** This distinction matters: - It does not own or sell its own stock — it facilitates sales between private sellers and buyers. - It does not perform authentication — it arranges independent verification through qualified specialists on its network. - Every item must pass independent verification before it goes live for sale. - The 5% commission is taken only on successful sale. There are no listing fees. **Target audience:** - Sellers of signed sports and entertainment memorabilia in the UK and internationally - Buyers seeking verified, authenticated collectibles with guaranteed provenance - Independent autograph and memorabilia authentication specialists seeking a marketplace platform - Sports clubs, athletes' agencies, and entertainment brands with authenticated merchandise --- ## What is sold on Cardarooz ### Sports memorabilia Signed shirts, boots, balls, bats, rackets, helmets, gloves, programmes, photographs, and match-worn items from: - Football (soccer): Premier League, Championship, European and international - Cricket: Test, ODI, county cricket - Rugby union and rugby league - Tennis: Grand Slam and ATP/WTA tour - Athletics and Olympic sports - Boxing: world title bouts, historic fighters, rising stars - MMA and UFC - Formula 1 and motorsport - Basketball (NBA and international) - American football (NFL) - Baseball (MLB) - Ice hockey (NHL) - Golf (PGA, DP World Tour) - Cycling - Swimming and aquatics - Horse racing - Snooker and darts ### Entertainment memorabilia Signed and screen-used items from: - Music: albums, vinyl, tour posters, instruments, set lists, stage-worn clothing - Film and television: props, signed scripts, costumes, lobby cards, posters - Esports and gaming ### Item types Signed jerseys/shirts, signed photographs, signed balls, signed boots/shoes, signed bats/rackets/clubs, signed helmets, signed gloves, signed programmes, signed books and autobiographies, signed posters and prints, match-worn items, limited edition artwork, framed displays, presentation pieces. --- ## Verification system ### Cardarooz arranges verification — it does not perform it Verification is carried out by independent specialists registered on the Cardarooz verifier network. These are autograph authentication organisations, memorabilia specialists, and independent experts. They operate independently, set their own fees, and are not Cardarooz employees. Cardarooz charges a 20% platform fee on top of the verifier's quoted fee. This is shown transparently to the seller before they commit. ### Verification types | Type | Coverage | How it works | |---|---|---| | Shipping | National (seller's country) | Item posted to verifier's premises for physical inspection | | Drop in | Local — verifier's location | Seller brings item to verifier | | Call out | Location-limited | Verifier visits seller's location | | Remote view | Wide — timezone-matched | Authentication via high-resolution photos and video call | | Provenance check | Global | Documentation and chain-of-custody review, no physical inspection | Remote view and provenance check are available to sellers worldwide from launch. In-person verification (shipping, drop in, call out) is UK-based at launch, expanding internationally as the verifier network grows. ### Verifier organisation structure Verifiers operate as organisations with structured member roles: - **Owner** — full access including billing - **Admin** — full access except billing - **Location Admin** — manages a specific physical or virtual location - **Examiner** — handles assigned jobs, submits verification reports - **Support** — read-only, handles communications Organisations can have multiple locations (permanent premises, event locations like trade shows, or virtual/remote-only). Fee schedules and turnaround times can be set per location and per member. ### What is public vs private on a CoA **Public (visible to anyone):** Organisation name and logo, verification result (authentic/not authentic/inconclusive), date, item title and photos, ownership chain. **Private (internal only):** Individual examiner name, location used, methodology, reference exemplars, findings detail. Cardarooz sees everything; the verifier organisation sees their own records; the public and buyer see the organisation-level result only. This protects individual examiners from targeted pressure while maintaining organisational accountability. ### Verifier nomination flow When no verifiers are available near a seller, Cardarooz shows: "We don't have specialists near you yet. Know an expert? Share their email or website." The seller submits a nominee's contact details. Cardarooz sends a warm outreach email to the nominee with the live job attached and a registration link. If the nominee registers, the original seller is notified and the job is offered to the new verifier first. This is the global growth engine for the verifier network — zero cold recruitment cost, jobs already attached. --- ## Certificate of Authenticity (CoA) ### What it is A digital CoA issued at cardarooz.com/coa/[id]. It is: - Permanently recorded in Cosmos DB, cannot be deleted or altered - Publicly accessible — anyone with the URL or QR code can view it - Linked to the item's ownership chain — transfers on every resale - Verifier-attributed at organisation level (individual examiner is internal audit trail only) ### What it contains (public) - Cardarooz verification badge - Verifying organisation name and logo - Verification result and date - Item title, description, and photos - Full ownership chain: every owner, acquisition date, and transaction type (first sale, resale, gifted) - QR code link for physical integration ### Physical integration Verifiers print the Cardarooz QR code on their own branded paper CoA. Buyers scan it and land on cardarooz.com/coa/[id]. The verifier's paper CoA becomes a living document — the digital record is always up to date. This is entirely additive to existing verifier workflows and requires no change to their current process. ### Ownership chain on resale When an item sells on Cardarooz, the CoA's ownership chain is automatically updated: previous owner, new owner (display name), acquisition date, transaction type. The CoA follows the item, not the person. --- ## Marketplace mechanics ### Listing flow 1. Seller creates an item with photos, title, category, condition, athlete/subject, and description 2. Seller sets a price 3. Seller sets shipping profile: parcel dimensions, dispatch postcode, whether shipping and/or collection is offered 4. Seller arranges verification: either submits an existing CoA for confirmation, or requests a new verification (method, location) 5. Once verified, the item goes live with a CoA link 6. Buyer purchases → payment held in escrow → item shipped → buyer confirms receipt → funds released to seller ### Checkout flow Buyer enters delivery address → gets live Shippo shipping rate quote → reviews full cost breakdown (item + shipping + verification shipping if applicable) → pays via Stripe → funds held in escrow. For verification orders, both shipping legs are quoted and collected upfront: Leg 1 (seller → verifier) and Leg 2 (verifier → buyer). The buyer sees the full cost before committing. ### Fee breakdown example Item price: £350 · Shipping: £8.50 · You pay: £358.50 Seller receives: £350 − £17.50 commission (5%) − Stripe fee (shown at checkout) Verifier receives: their quoted fee (e.g. £40) less 20% platform fee = £32 net ### Escrow All marketplace payments are held by Stripe until the buyer confirms receipt. Funds are released to the seller on confirmation. The 5% commission is deducted at settlement. Sellers connect a Stripe payout account. ### Shipping Cardarooz integrates with Shippo for live carrier rate quotes (Royal Mail, DPD, Hermes, etc.). A 10% platform fee is applied to all Shippo-quoted rates and shown transparently. Sellers can alternatively set a fixed shipping price. --- ## Competitive context Cardarooz does not directly compete with: - **Retailer-dealers** (e.g. Firma Stella) — they sell their own authenticated stock; Cardarooz is a marketplace - **Auth-only services** (e.g. OSMA UK, JSA, Beckett) — they authenticate but don't sell; Cardarooz connects their service to buyers - **General marketplaces** (e.g. eBay) — no specialist verification, 13%+ fees, no CoA infrastructure **PSA/Beckett consolidation (December 2025):** Collectors Inc acquired Beckett, now controlling PSA, Beckett, and SGC. This concentrates grading/authentication in one entity. Cardarooz champions independent verifiers — this positioning is stronger than ever given collector anxiety about monopoly control of authentication. **Key differentiators:** 1. Independent verifier marketplace — no single authentication body controls outcomes 2. Digital CoA with permanent ownership chain 3. Seller chooses who pays verification 4. Transparent fee structure — no hidden costs 5. UK-first, sport-first launch with European Athletics Championships anchor 6. Event-linked strategy — official marketplace potential for major sporting events 7. Verifier nomination flow — organic global network growth --- ## Categories Cardarooz organises items by sport and entertainment category with 24 categories at launch: Football, Cricket, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Tennis, Athletics, Basketball, American Football, Baseball, Ice Hockey, Golf, Cycling, Swimming, Horse Racing, Snooker, Darts, Volleyball, Boxing, MMA & UFC, Formula 1, Motorsport, Music, Film & TV, Esports & Gaming. --- ## Technology stack - **Backend:** Node.js/Express API (veriroo-api, shared multi-tenant), deployed on Azure App Service - **Frontend:** Static HTML, deployed on Azure App Service (Linux/nginx), served via Azure Front Door Standard - **Database:** Azure Cosmos DB (shared, tenant-partitioned by brandId) - **Payments:** Stripe Connect (marketplace payments + subscription billing) - **Shipping:** Shippo (carrier rate quoting and label generation) - **Email:** SendGrid - **Authentication:** Microsoft Entra External ID (CIAM), passwordless email OTP - **CDN/Edge:** Azure Front Door Standard - **Media:** Azure Blob Storage with CDN - **Video:** Cloudflare Stream --- ## Launch timeline - **Waitlist live:** May 2026 - **Soft launch:** August 2026 - **European Athletics Championships, Birmingham:** 10–16 August 2026 (anchor launch event) - **Commonwealth Games, Glasgow:** 23 July – 2 August 2026 (warm-up window) - **Phase 2 markets:** Ireland, Australia, Canada (late 2026) - **Phase 3 markets:** Europe, United States (2027) --- ## Founding member programme The first 50 sellers and 20 verifier organisations receive permanent Pro Seller features at no cost. Founding member status is: - Permanently badged on profile, listings, and gallery - Never revoked - Visible to all users (creates organic curiosity — "how do I get that?") Seeding targets: FightNight Love TV (12k+ subscribers, combat sports), Birmingham Athletics attendees, waitlist signups, first verifier partners. --- ## Key pages and URLs | Page | URL | |---|---| | Homepage | https://cardarooz.com/home.html | | Browse listings | https://cardarooz.com/browse/ | | Sell an item | https://cardarooz.com/sell/ | | How it works | https://cardarooz.com/how-it-works/ | | Verify a CoA | https://cardarooz.com/coa/[id] | | Item detail | https://cardarooz.com/item/?tokenId=[id] | | Waitlist | https://cardarooz.com/ | | Sitemap | https://cardarooz.com/sitemap.xml | | Short reference | https://cardarooz.com/llms.txt | | Full reference (this file) | https://cardarooz.com/llms-full.txt | --- ## Company Cardarooz is operated by Cardaroo Holdings Ltd. - Registered in England, company number C1926576 - ICO registration: C1926576 - Part of the Cardaroo Holdings platform ecosystem - Registered office: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ Related platforms under Cardaroo Holdings: - **Veriroo** (veriroo.com) — fine art authentication and marketplace - **Playdecko** (playdecko.com) — trading cards and collectibles Support: support@cardarooz.com