Ebay has long been the go-to site for sellers and bargain hunters alike, and the annual Ebay Live summit provides an opportunity for ebay enthusiasts to hobnob with fellow buyers and sellers and Ebay head honchos. Attendees spent time visiting with exhibitors and had the opportunity to discuss Ebay’s new policies with the Powers That Be themselves.

The new policies, most of which will go into effect in July, are aimed at improving the buying experience, rewarding top sellers, and keeping users from leaving the site. Let’s take a gander at the key policy updates:

• Sellers will no longer be permitted to link to any non-Ebay websites selling goods or services. Linking to Ebay owned companies like StubHub or PayPal, however, is still a-ok.

• Rather than creating multiple listings for similar items (think 10 pairs of jeans in 10 different sizes), sellers will be able to include size and color options in one listing.

Sometimes staying ahead of the tech curve leaves loyal customers behind. Online DVD-by-mail rental leader Netflix plans to stave off technological extinction by shifting away from mailbox DVDs and, instead, streaming entertainment directly to set-top boxes, delivering films on demand. With a click of the remote, Netflix subscribers with high-speed Internet connections and the right set-top box get instant cinema … sans storage disk. The good news is that the Netflix set-top box is cheaper than the competition. The $99.99 five-inch square device is easy to hook up and costs less than one-half similar devices from Apple and Vudu.