General answer:
Whether you receive an answer likely depends on the sort of seller you ask, the sort of items you are asking about, and the sort of questions you ask.
Asking a drop-shipper about one of their listings is unlikely to be fruitful. They may not know enough about the product to answer. They may not speak English. Or they may rightly calculate that any honest answer is unlikely to result in a satisfied sale. Not answering saves them effort and time, and avoids a potentially difficult transaction with a picky customer.
Asking a mega bookseller about whether a particular $5 book includes an appendix is unlikely be productive. Almost any time at all spent answering such a question would cost more than the transaction is likely to profit the seller. The same question to a small-time seller with a dozen listings is much more likely to be answered. More so if it is a $50 book, or a $500 book.
It is certainly possible that a seller did not respond because they did not receive the question. Or they are disorganized, and forgot. Or they think the question is sufficiently addressed by the listing description. In general, if no response is forthcoming, you should assume that the answer is not a favorable one where the value of the item is concerned.
If you ask the seller whether the $5 book they are selling is the standard edition or the ultra rare gold-leaf edition, there are three potential scenarios: 1) The seller politely answers that it is, in fact, the standard edition; 2) the seller does not respond at all; 3) the seller ends the listing and relists at a much higher price.
TL;DR: Most prospective buyers ask a question because they are seeking information that will help them put the correct value on an item; a seller that does not answer a simple, polite request is providing valuable information, whether it is recognized as such or not.
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