eBay to Integrate Skype with Online Auction Listings

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7:30 am on June 15, 2006 | Category: VoIP, Web Services

Online auction giant, eBay Inc., announced earlier this week that it plans to integrated the Skype internet phone service with certain categories of auction listings.

Sellers will be soon able to add “Skype Me” buttons to their listings, allowing prospective buyers to engage them in a free voice conversation over the internet.

eBay CEO, Meg Whitman, said that this integration is part of the company’s “Power of Three” business strategy, which integrates the online auction site with eBay’s two main acquisitions, Paypal and Skype.

“Each of these businesses is incredibly powerful on its own,” Whitman told about 15,000 eBay users, employees, and partners at a convention in Las Vegas. “EBay is No. 1 in e-commerce, PayPal is No. 1 in online payments and Skype is No. 1 in voice communications.”

“Together, however, we think these three businesses can make even greater things happen,” she said.

Integration of Skype with eBay is intended to eliminate so called “friction” that can get in the way of a sale, by making it easier for buyers and sellers to communicate in real time. This is especially important in the case of high-ticket auctions.

In a separate announcement, company spokesman, Hani Durzy said that executives are also looking at the possibility of integrating Skype with Paypal, by making it possible for users to send one-click payments to anyone on their Skype buddy list.

In addition to making life easier for eBay users, tying the three companies together will encourage customers of one to make user of the others. Skype currently has about 100 million members, most of which do not overlap with eBay’s 200 million buyers and sellers.

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By now Skype being financially distressed and stock holders losing confidence, proves that not all Ebay touches turns to gold.

Comment by online car auctions — December 5, 2007 #
A highly recommended site is elfingo.com for online auctions. They are the new ebay. Many smaller sites like this offer buyers far better deals than ebay ever could. Buyser also save a ton because this site charges little or nothing depending on the day. One more reaso I like elfingo.com is because they don’t take a part of the sale at all. No commissions or final value fees. A+++ http://www.elfingo.com

Comment by arunamano — February 27, 2008 #