I think item levels should be removed.
1. If you remove item levels, then you could upgrade an unbound item (therefore allowing 4* and 5* equipment to be traded again)
2. They're kind of pointless and don't really add much depth.
It takes very little time to get something to level 10. You might as well just start them off at level 10. Or better yet, just get rid of item levels all together.
Does anyone agree? They just seem pointless to me!
This game is built around gated progression. You need gear of this quality to access this tier, gear of that quality to access that tier. It's how they can provide more challenging levels to better progressed characters, and better gear (and thus prestige) to these players. It's a common model in MMO games. Removing item levels would remove important depth from the game.
The changes to crafted items were intentional on the part of the developers. They were intended to improve the quality of the game. Given that similar things have worked very well in other MMO games, I'm inclined to agree with the path that we are about to head down.
It's not obvious to you that they removed trading crafted 4* and 5* items on purpose... or why they have a token system, or crafting at all.
In other words, I disagree.