Each year, the Sellers Choice Awards lets online sellers rate the online marketplaces they use on a number of criteria, and then publish the results in EcommerceBytes. Last year, almost 2,800 readers participated, and this year, a record 4,500 readers took part in Phase 1 - the nomination process, which narrows down the voting to the final 16. There are some interesting new additions to the list of finalists this year.

The nomination process for the 2012 Sellers Choice Awards ended on Friday, and today, the polls are open!

You can now rate the 16 online marketplaces that you helped nominate on the following criteria: Profitability; Customer Service; Communication; Ease of Use; and "Would you recommend." Don't worry - you don't have to rate all 16 - we only want you to rate the online marketplaces you use or have used within the past year.

One of my favorite parts of the Sellers Choice awards (after seeing which marketplace is rated most highly) is viewing the diverse comments that offer independent inside information about what it's like to sell on various venues. It's the kind of information that is difficult to find anyplace else. Here's a timeline of the voting process:

Voting begins: January 22, 2012
Voting ends: January 31, 2012
Winners Announced: February 5, 2012

Barbara Crews of About.com is also running the Readers Choice Awards for Collectors. You can vote for "Best Blogs and Websites for Collectors," "Best Spot to Sell Online," "Favorite TV Shows for Collectors," and more. If you're a collector, be sure and vote for your favorite resources.

One of our most popular news stories in the last 2 weeks was my interview with industry marketplaces and vendors called, Online Selling Trends 2012 - Challenges Facing Online Sellers.

Another was, Google's Social News - What Online Sellers Need to Know about Google's latest policy in which it now integrates "Google Plus" (its social networking site) into Google search results. Experts say that change now makes it imperative for online merchants to have content on their websites and they need to have people sharing that content with other people in order to have their website show up in Google search results. And, website owners also need to start building up a following of people on Google Plus.

Two revelations made during eBay's post-earnings conference call on Wednesday is likely to make sellers nervous. The conference call came after eBay announced strong fourth-quarter revenue but a "solid but not too inspiring" performance in U.S. Marketplaces GMV, as one analyst characterized it.

First, eBay CEO John Donahoe revealed that more changes are coming, mentioning that new products will roll out to eBay Marketplaces in 2012. Secondly, "regular" sellers will at some point have to deal with an influx of inventory from GSI Commerce's 500 large brands and retailers (13 of them are already on the U.S. marketplace). One change that eBay is already testing is the placement of very prominent off-site advertisements within the auction description page.

eBay's Chief Financial Officer Bob Swan explained that the company was still working on technology to integrate the GSI Commerce platform with the eBay Marketplaces platform. "We're making sure we get it right before we rapidly expand additional large merchants on the platform," he said.

Also of note was Donahoe's description of the impact of eBay's new policy in which it now charges fees on shipping costs in the U.S. - "Let me say it was immaterial globally and accounted for roughly less than 1 percent of the growth in the U.S."

You can read more about what the eBay executives had to say about last year's performance and the changes coming to Marketplaces in Thursday's Newsflash news article. And you can leave your comments about it on the EcommerceBytes Blog.

In today's issue, we have a great lineup - Greg Holden takes a look at a tool for merchants that helps them sell on eBay, Amazon and their own website; Kenneth Corbin gives us a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse at the Antiques Roadshow provided by several appraisers, one of whom is embroiled in a heated dispute with the producer; and Julia Wilkinson tries out a bookkeeping service that promises to help online sellers organize their records for tax time. We wrap up with a look at collectible tchotchkes and museum pins and letters from readers.

Thanks for reading, and please don't forget to vote for your favorite online marketplace for the 2012 Sellers Choice Awards - go to Survey Monkey now.