Any Tips on Buying?

I’ve had only good experiences buying and selling on Audiogon, but need to share an experience and ask for advice.

I found a hot-ticket item on the first day of sale and knew that it would be snatched up quickly (Cardas Golden Ref. PC), but there was a poor description of the item and no photo. So I sent a message to the seller, who had good feedback, for a better description. He responded and I went to click Buy it Now but it was sold at that moment.
(the listing switched to Expired before my very eyes).

Please don’t tell me “snooze you lose” cause I already feel that way.
So would it be better to Make An Offer, and then ask my question? If I don’t like the info regarding the item, then can I just back out of the sale? This is the second time I’ve lost out on an item by using the Ask a Question option.

What would you do?