Personally, I don't see what the big deal is. Why keep it a secret? How does that benefit you in any way?

Quotes from E-bay:

"Why have a reserve price? Many sellers have found that too high a starting price discourages interest in their item, while an attractively low starting price makes them vulnerable to selling at an unsatisfactorily low price. A reserve price helps with this."

"Important: eBay will never reveal your reserve price to potential bidders. But sellers often receive inquiries from bidders about the reserve price. This is allowed on eBay. Likewise, revealing your reserve to a bidder is allowed, but not required. If you don't want to reveal your reserve price, you can politely let the bidder know that they can bid what they like and if the bidding meets the reserve price the item will be sold"

I guess I am not trying to beat a horse, but the stated policy says they can ask, but I don't need to tell.  I didn't tell and I did it politely, and instead of saying thanks but no thanks, he got sarcastic.  It just smelled funny.    

Couple other things about my experience with Ebay. When selling an item, I will state that bidders that have zero or negative (multiple) feedbacks will be removed and blocked from purchasing. Too many scammers out there.

I also state that I won't ship item until payment has been received and money order/certified check clears.

I wouldnt disclose my reserve price   its your safeguard of not losing your shirt on the sale but allowing for competing bids at a lower price to drive up the bidding