Authenticity cannot be settled on a video call. For cricket memorabilia the claim is almost always about an occasion — a match, a tour, a team — so the useful questions are about the occasion.
What to ask them to show
Photographs of the signing, if any exist. Ask first, because it is the most valuable thing a seller can have.
The signature and the whole item in one frame. A bat's signature photographed alone can be separated from the bat later.
The signatures close up, under angled light.
The bat's own maker stickers and the back of the blade, or for a shirt, the badge, the labels and the inside.
Whatever paperwork exists, in full, and who issued it.
Where it came from, and when they got it.
What a refusal means
"It is a team-signed bat from that series" is a claim about an event. Ask how they know — and a seller who was there, or who bought it from somebody who was, will tell you a specific story.
A certificate from an issuer nobody can look up adds nothing, and an honest seller will say so.
Items signed long after the event are a known issue in this trade. Asking when it was signed is a fair question and the answer is informative either way.
What this page will not do
It will not tell you how to compare signatures, or what medium belongs to which era. Signature comparison is specialist work and this is a category where confident amateur judgement is actively harmful.
Gather the photographs and the provenance, and ask somebody who collects cricket memorabilia before you bid.
What protects you if you get it wrong
An item sold as signed that is not is not as described: returnable for 7 days whatever the store's policy says, and reportable.
Ask about packing as well — bats, frames and shirts are awkward, easy to crease and easy to damage, and that risk is real whether or not the signature is.
Questions people ask
Is a team-signed item harder to verify?
Usually, because it multiplies the number of claims being made.
Does a photograph of the signing settle it?
It is the strongest evidence most sellers can offer. Ask for it in the same frame as the item if possible.
Does Metzee authenticate signatures?
No. We do not handle items and we do not authenticate.
More: spotting a counterfeit before you bid, Metzee's position on counterfeits, reporting a seller, questions to ask before bidding on cricket memorabilia.