Thanks so much for posting this, 'poco'.
For once in the past 4 years, this really is just an update, not a seismic shift. I feel like I've just been handed a reprieve for another year, or one of those "Get out of Jail for Free" cards in Monopoly. I was dreading this year's Spring Update, but there may be some hope.
What I read into these changes is that:
1) Despite their headline that "We're putting the excitement back into auctions", I think EBay means not all auctions. They obviously want to limit auctions to high-demand items by penalizing sellers who list "stuff" of all kinds that doesn't sell. As we all know, we've had far too much nickle-and-dime junk listed at auction that clogs up the site, never sells, and crowds out the more saleable or interesting items.
Maybe eBay has realized that having 10 million auction listings of the same old Chinese mass-produced stuff is putting buyers off generally. Gee, I think we minions could have told them that 4 years ago.
2) EBay is slowing maneuvering sellers into the store subscription corner. Just looking at the listing fees for non-stores gives me a headache -- it seems so complicated now to list without a store that I imagine this Update will encourage many sellers to join the bandwagon.
I've believed for quite some time that eBay might eventually want to have the assured income flow of subscribed store sellers rather than the unpredictable hit-and-miss income from non-subscribers. I wouldn't be surprised to find the pay-as-you-go fee structure phased out almost entirely within a couple of years.
I never thought I'd say this, but there's some good news in this Update for me personally, in the sense that it's essentially no news. For once, they haven't seriously altered anything that I'll have to spend weeks or months adjusting to. It's the "no update" Update I've always been wishing for! Whoo-hoo, I'm pretty much scot-free until the fall. 
Any Canadian seller interested in asking questions to eBay.ca staffer should raise their questions on this dedicated thread:
http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Updates/2015-Spring-Seller-Update/m-p/297124#U297124
@rose-dee wrote:
I never thought I'd say this, but there's some good news in this Update for me personally, in the sense that it's essentially no news. For once, they haven't seriously altered anything that I'll have to spend weeks or months adjusting to. It's the "no update" Update I've always been wishing for!
I totally agree with you "rose". Although I will be affected by some of the changes, on the whole, it was not the drastic Spring Update I was anticipating. I thought there might be changes to the return policy, the defect system, DSR's, etc., with their attendant head-aches .... but no. I actually breathed a sigh of relief when I finished reading. I can live with this 
@pierrelebel wrote:Any Canadian seller interested in asking questions to eBay.ca staffer should raise their questions on this dedicated thread:
http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Updates/2015-Spring-Seller-Update/m-p/297124#U297124
Thanks Pierre.
I have to admit that I seldom remember to check the "eBay News and Information" board. 
"We don’t expect the overall fees to change significantly for most sellers. Some sellers may see an increase in fees, which can be reduced by adjusting their listing format, listing duration and improving the quality of their listings.
Most sellers will see their fees stay the same or decrease."
@pierrelebel wrote:
"We don’t expect the overall fees to change significantly for most sellers. Some sellers may see an increase in fees, which can be reduced by adjusting their listing format, listing duration and improving the quality of their listings.
Most sellers will see their fees stay the same or decrease."
Do you think the close-minded will comprehend that? I can think of at three, here, that will scream that their fees went up again, when they do not go up.
I'm not close minded....my fees WILL be going up (that is if I get convinced to actually pay for listings). I'm lucky since I'm a professional "hobby" seller, I have flexibility that most true full time sellers don't have. As long as the listing promos continue at the same pace it will be "no change" for me.
The inability to use Store Listings as Auctions is a real annoyance for me personally but it's not an overwhelming problem. The increase in Media listing fees for Fixed Price IS a real problem for low priced items which are very common in media.
I advise everyone to check out the Category & IS changes, if you are affected and have a large number of listings it can be a lot of work to get them right.
