Authenticity cannot be settled on a video call, and for a signed item the thing being claimed is not really about the object — it is about a moment. So ask about the moment.
What to ask them to show
Photographs of the signing, if any exist. This is the most valuable thing a seller can have and the first thing to ask for.
The signature and the whole item in one frame, so the two cannot be separated later.
The signature close up, under angled light rather than straight on.
Whatever paperwork there is, photographed in full — a certificate, a receipt, a letter. Ask who issued it.
Where it came from and when they got it. For memorabilia, the chain matters more than the object.
What a refusal means
"It came from a reliable source" is not a source. Ask which one.
A certificate from a name nobody can look up is worth exactly nothing, and an honest seller will tell you so themselves rather than leaning on it.
What is genuinely fine: "I have no paperwork, I bought it signed at the ground and here is my photograph of the day." That is a specific story with evidence attached, and it should be priced differently from a certificate nobody can check.
What this page will not do
It will not tell you how to compare a signature, or what medium should have been used when. Signature comparison is a specialist skill, signatures change across a life, and items signed long after the event are a known problem in this trade.
Photographs, provenance and paperwork — gathered before you bid — are what somebody qualified needs.
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 too. Frames, glass and a shirt that must not be folded on a crease are where value is lost in this category without any dishonesty at all.
Questions people ask
Does a certificate make it safe?
Only as safe as the issuer, and many issuers are meaningless. Ask who issued it and look them up.
Is an unsigned item with provenance better than a signed one without?
Often, yes — and the honest answer is that it depends entirely on who you can ask.
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 sports memorabilia.