If you don't like the qualifications for TRS+ then don't offer free postage an express delivery option, nobody forces you to and many, many sellers manage very well without any of the perceved advantages of having TRS status. As I only sell for half the year I go in and out of having TRS status and have never found any difference in my sell through rate. Ebay claim that you may feature higher in best match searches but just as many TRS rated sellers complain that they are pages down as others who do not have it

I am not certain what price hikes you are refering to either, with the advent of free listings being included in store subscriptions and the 40 free listings for non store ids my fees are going to be quite a bit lower even allowing for the increased fvf.