The advantage of a live show over a listing is that you can ask — and the person answering is holding the object.
Most people underuse it.
Ask before the item starts
A host mid-auction, with a clock running, cannot stop to measure something. The same question two items earlier gets a proper answer.
Most shows show what is coming up, so you can see yours approaching.
Ask for movement, not description
This is the whole technique. Do not ask what condition is it in — ask them to show you.
"Can you turn it over?" The back is where everything is.
"Tilt it to the light." Scratches and creases are invisible head-on.
"Show me the label, close up." Or the hallmark, the stitching, the base.
"Put something next to it for scale."
Each of those is two seconds for the host and worth more than a paragraph.
The one question to always ask
"What is the worst thing about it?"
A straight answer tells you the item. A dodge tells you the seller. Either way you have learned what you needed, and it is the single most efficient thing you can type. Five questions worth asking before you bid
Ask for a measurement, not a size
A size label is an opinion that varies by maker. A measured chest, insole or length is a fact, and it prevents the commonest return there is.
On a listing rather than in a show
Send an enquiry and be specific: "could you photograph the base and the inside rim?" is two minutes of work. "More photos please" is an unbounded request and gets a slower answer. Can I ask for more photos before bidding?
What not to do
Do not ask the price to be dropped mid-auction. The price is the room's, not the seller's, and asking reads badly to everyone watching. On a fixed-price item where the store takes offers, there is a proper mechanism. Can I negotiate with a seller?
Do not ask for contact outside Metzee. Against the rules, and it removes your protection.
Do not repeat the question four times in thirty seconds. Hosts are reading a moving room and the rate limit will stop you anyway. How the chat in a show works
If they will not answer
That is your answer. Someone who will not turn an item over on camera, while holding it, has a reason. There will be another one. Should I bid with a seller who has no sales yet?
More: how to judge an item through a camera, five questions worth asking, how the chat works.