eBay to announce plans to integrate Skype into US auction site during eBay Live

[mandy]

This week, the San Jose, Calif.-based eBay will see whether its multibillion-dollar bet on the Internet telephone firm will pay off just as handsomely. At its annual "eBay Live" convention, the company will announce plans to integrate Skype into its U.S. marketplace for the first time. Sellers can choose to include Skype buttons in their auctions for a few carefully chosen product categories, such as cars, real estate and diamond solitaire rings. CEO Meg Whitman hopes that this time-honored sales technique—good old-fashioned conversation—will generate more trust between buyers and sellers, and increase the number of sales—and eBay's commissions.

The stakes for eBay's integration of Skype are enormous. Over the last few years, the e-commerce giant has been furiously remaking itself to survive in an increasingly competitive, maturing industry...

full article: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13248493/site/newsweek/

[iron_chick]

http://community.tuliptools.com/index.ph...cseen.html

[thentavius]

At least they won't be rolling it out during Xmas.

[mandy]

eBay officially annoucned it

Starting on June 19, sellers will be able to embed simple "Skype Me" icons alongside product listing to allow users to contact them using a new feature of eBay called "Ask a seller a question." The feature is free and designed to allow people to answer quick questions before completing specific purchases.

When a potential buyer clicks the "Skype Me" button on the Web page, buyers can instantly be put into contact with the seller via a Web-based voice call, a text message, or both...

eBay will begin testing Skype on 14 categories across eBay.com, including property listings, cars and trucks, diamond solitaire rings, certain electronic devices and collectibles such as NBA basketball player cards and silver coins...

full article: http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-6083563.html

[xppman]

Another lame brain idea.

Glad I hardly sell at ebay any more
and I will definitely not be using Skype.

I can just hear the calls now.

Says on sellers listing page:

"Available for pick up only".

Seller gets calls from potential buyers
who can't READ asking:

"Can't you deliver the truck?"

Or

IN BIG BOLD LETTERS
"Shipping is $11.95 to anywhere in the US".
"Sorry NO INTERNATIONAL ORDERS"

Seller gets a call from potential buyer at 3 AM sellers time
who can't READ asking:

Can you ship the diamond to Italy to my "friends" address?

Or

"Property is located 30 miles south of Atlanta and just east of I 75.

Seller gets a call from potential buyers
who can't READ asking:

"How far is that from  Atlanta?"



Oh yea.. Sellers are really going to want / love this feature.
Taking up more of their already overspent time on flebay
for smaller returns than ever. Now they need to either
hire a 24 hour CS rep or run
around with their SKYPE phone in their ear to answer
stupid questions 24/7.


Maybe it's just me... But I think ebay has reached the pentacle of stupidity.

[thentavius]

Forget the real questions, imagine all the stalker phone calls--like the stalker pirate girl (Rebekkah) had, who essentially ruined her online business by himself. Imagine how much more damage he could have done by "skyping" her.

Edited to make my statement more clear. Amazing that I write for a living. LOL. I'm such a word loser some days!

[bargainbloodhound]

The official eBay press release:

eBay and Skype today announced that eBay users will have the option of including Skype functionality on listings in 14 categories across eBay.com. The launch of Skype on eBay.com is a pilot program designed to evaluate Skype use among different types of goods and user communities. eBay and Skype made the announcement at eBay Live!, eBay's annual community conference.

Beginning June 19, sellers will have the option to add a "Skype Me" button to their item listings when completing the "Sell your Item" form. If the Skype option is selected by the seller, a "Skype Me" button will appear in a new "Ask a seller a question" section. By clicking on the button, buyers will be able to communicate with sellers using voice, text chat or both. Buyers can use Skype to instantly request more information about a specific item and interact with the seller in real-time. This functionality will be available at no cost to users.

"Skype represents a tremendous opportunity for our sellers to connect even more closely with their buyers," said Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America. "We believe that Skype will enhance the way that people communicate and trade on eBay, especially in high involvement and high price categories. It will be exciting to watch Skype become a part of our marketplace."

"Skype's integration on eBay makes it easier for buyers and sellers to communicate," said Henry Gomez, North America general manager, Skype. "And we've seen that good communication is at the heart of smooth e-commerce transactions. We are looking forward to watching Skype take its first steps into the e-commerce mainstream."

Beginning June 19, "Skype Me" functionality will be available in the following categories on the eBay U.S. website:

--  Automotive GPS devices          --  Manufacturing and metalworking

--  Camera and photo lenses and    --  Beds
    filters

--  Wired networking routers        --  NBA basketball cards

--  Skype devices                  --  Silver coins

--  VOIP/Internet telephony        --  Lost in Space collectibles

--  Diamond solitaire rings        --  Radio control toys

--  Real estate (residential,      --  Cars and trucks
    commercial)

eBay selected these categories for the pilot based on Skype's ability to positively impact the transaction. Categories were chosen where instant communication can greatly facilitate trade, such as those with high average selling prices, complex products, or new technologies that can generate a high volume of questions. Additionally, eBay selected categories with a local component, such as large items requiring local delivery or pick up, and those with a highly enthusiastic community, such as collectibles.

As with any new community offering, eBay solicited feedback directly from community members before integrating Skype. Overall, eBay sellers said they appreciated having the option of an additional communications channel with buyers, while buyers said they would look favorably on listings that included a new way to learn about the product and get to know the seller.

[mandy]

Another take on the Skype integration announcement:

We've finally seen more plans for eBay-Skype integration, and the upshot of them are clear: eBay got played for a sucker when it paid up to $4.1 billion for Skype.

The newest plans show that there will be a new SkypeMe "Ask The Seller a Question" feature in 14 of eBay U.S categories. In addition, Skype will be used to let people people make customer service calls to eBay. And there will also be Skype-PayPal integration.

No arguing with all that; that's very nice.

But is it $4.1 billion nice? I think not...

full article: http://techsearch.cmp.com/blog/archives/...nd_telecom

[maryrussel]

I must be misunderstanding something here. It sounds like a step backwards to me. One of the reasons I started selling online as opposed to my one-man home-based catalog sales is because I was tired of all the phone calls at all hours and days of the week.

[bargainbloodhound]

I was tired of all the phone calls at all hours and days of the week.

That's one reason not to use it.  If eBay was going to do it right the Skype "button" would allow sellers to specify their customer service hours.