I totally understand, in the ideal world it would be normal and expected to exchange contact and address details before or immediately after entering into any agreement to buy or sell anything. But this is ebay world !
Ebay are paranoid that if sellers displayed name and contact details or exchange this information via messaging that transactions will be carried out outside of the ebay platform (although with free listings at the moment there would be no financial loss to ebay which is a little bizzarre)
ebay do offer buyer protection in the form of the money back guarantee but this is flawed for example if you purchase an item with a warranty or an item that fails after 30 days - the ebay guarantee is worthless - absolutely worthless !
Some Private sellers may also have some fear that by giving out their personal details before a sale is made that scammers / thieves or disgruntled buyers or sellers may seek them out ! In ebay world that is possible with no protection from ebay or even the police who are reactive rather than proactive.
Unfortunately the system of not allowing buyers to contact or view who is selling is an invite to not so honest sellers to hide behind anominity.
Most genuine private sellers would happily provide contact details to customers after a sale - they have nothing to hide nor do they make false claims or offer non existant services such as false warranties.
You could buy from business sellers who ebay have to allow the contact details to be displayed by law or be more selective with private sellers - check their feedback - check even how long they have been trading.
You can check there general location as previously stated in this thread and of course you can message them to ask if you can collect before buying. Some sellers do not want anyone to collect for personal reasons, fear of strangers for example.
My advice is to buy from private sellers who are willing to communicate, have good feedback comments, even if they are relatively new, and learn the ebay money back guarantee inside out and use it if a seller deviates from what is agreed in the listing no matter what promises they make for not performing - this way you will not need the buyers name and address - DO NOT BUY any item from a personal seller with promises of guarantees, warranties, or vague descriptions such as ' as per photo' genuine private sellers will accurately describe any used item or new other item with a selection of informative photos.
