I’ve been remiss in my blogging efforts. That means there is a lot to get to. So, on with it…

The big news today is that eBay announced today they are taking their U.S eBay and Half.com affiliate programs in house. EBay has been running its program on Commission Junction since 2001. However, about a year and a half ago eBay changed their links to their own tracking links using rover.ebay.com, so it was just a matter of time before the entire program migrated in house.

The network, called eBay Partner Network, will launch on April 1 and the company expects that all affiliate links will be migrated by May 1. For several thousand eBay affiliates that means they must change out all their links.

Dave Osman, senior vice president of Operations at Commission Junction says CJ is encouraging affiliates to move sooner rather than later. Although Osman says CJ is committed to helping eBay during the transition.

eBay will continue its partnership with ValueClick’s technology division, Mediaplex, for ad serving, tracking and other custom projects. eBay’s Tradera AB, ProStores, Reseller Marketplace, Media Marketplace, eBay Stores and StubHub will not be affected and will continue their relationship with Commission Junction. eBay affiliates working with other platforms, including Affilinet and Tradedoubler, will also not be affected.

As one of CJ’s largest merchants, the departure of eBay from the network has raised some financial questions. However, Osman says that everything has been factored into its parent company ValueClick’s guidance to analysts and its financial forecasts for a long time.

Osman also noted that eBay is a unique company given that its size and resources and that there only a handful of companies that would be capable of running of program of that size without the help of network. He doesn’t expect this type of move to become commonplace with merchants.

“The power of the network is that we are experts in running programs and allowing merchants to focus on their customers,” Osman says. “There is a real value in working with a network like CJ that includes scalability, the commitment to emerging technologies, publisher recruitment, etc.”

For its part, eBay says its new eBay Partner Network will allow them to have a direct relationship with its affiliates.

“We can innovate faster and deliver new products and tools in a more timely and efficient manner, providing new revenue opportunities for our affiliates and creating a more streamlined user experience for our buyers and sellers,” says Matt Ackley, vice president of Internet marketing at eBay.