One of the biggest issues affecting small online sellers this month was Auctiva's decision to move to a paid model after having offered its eBay listings tools for free since 2005. The company had relied on a number of methods to generate income to make its free-model work, but one of the biggest was through eBay's affiliate program, which eBay confirmed was undergoing changes.

Auctiva is one of eBay's largest third-party certified providers, and its CEO told AuctionBytes that about twenty percent of listings on eBay utilize an Auctiva feature, so the news has broad repercussions for eBay and its users. Sellers posting on discussion boards tried to determine whether it was best to stay with Auctiva or look for a lower-priced alternative, and several competitors stepped forward with announcements to attract those sellers.

Vendio announced it was making the Vendio Platform, which normally costs $10/month plus commission fees, completely free for Auctiva users through the end of the year, and $10/month with no commission fees for the full year, 2010.

A smaller service, The Seller Sourcebook, announced it would offer a 10 percent discount on its subscription rates to former Auctiva Members and said its members were always "grandfathered" into current pricing levels, enabling members to lock in permanently at current rates. And eBay certified provider Inkfrog announced it was promising not to increase its subscription fees for 3 years.

You can discuss various listing services and which one makes sense for you on the AuctionBytes Blog.

Further disrupting sellers is eBay's decision to retire its Picture Manager service in August - eBay is getting out of the photo-hosting business and said it would invest in its eBay Picture Service instead.

Today's issue carries an article to help people look for an alternative photo-hosting service; Greg Holden interviews a Wigix user to better understand this marketplace-with-a-twist; and of course we have a regular lineup of columns - be sure and read today's "This & That" column, which has a comprehensive roundup of news stories about eBay alternatives.

The Letters to the Editor blog, which we introduced 3 weeks ago, has proven popular with readers. Today's "Letters from Readers" feature links directly to each letter's accompanying blog post so you can read what others have said and leave your own comments.

The Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition is next week in Boston. Last year, attendance at IRCE exceeded over 5,000 exhibitors and attendees, making it the largest show for online retailers. I'll be chairing the Small Retailers track on Tuesday and will be visiting the exhibit hall on Wednesday. We'll provide coverage in the AuctionBytes Newsflash newsletter and AuctionBytes Blog, so stay tuned!

Thanks for reading.