yup - eBay started "anonymizing" bidders names recently and only after a specific dollar amount was reached. You wont see the names cloaked in other lower dollar auctions. It seems this went into affect about the time they added the detailed five star grading system for sellers.
They did this to prevent other sellers from stealing buyers away from a posted item. I will confess, I attempted to contact losing bidders if I had a like item and needed to sell. It was all innocent enough but at some point eBay became concerned with assisting in any transaction that they don't get a taste of. They now have a disclaimer stating that they screen any communications to Ebay members that you are not involved in a transaction with.
The game continues to change.
