eBay has excelled because they have done one thing very, very well: They let people sell stuff to other people and they take a cut. It's a brilliant business plan and they have executed it well.
The acquision of Skype is probably being pushed by people within eBay wanting to "expand into new market opportunities and businesses" rather than their official explanation of somehow integrating Skype into eBay to let buyers and sellers talk more easily. Email is plenty good for that communication and has been for years now (hence eBay's success). It seems a lot of companies think that because they're good at what they do, they should grow by trying to do a bunch of other things, too, things at which that they often turn out not to be so good.
The acquisition will probably cause a dilution of attention from management to both businesses and negatively impact both.
For the amount they are paying for Skype they must have some big plans. They would almost have to roll this out as a more commercially available and viable service.
Most likely you will have to be an eBay customer to use Skype somewhere down the road and will probably see a bunch of ads. Looking at Paypal, they bought and integrated it with their service.
At first I thought they might be doing this just to use it as a way for customers to contact service but for the price they are going to need to offer it as a service. Who knows in what form, though. :|
Since the rise of spoofing, ebay has vastly expanded their messaging system. "My ebay" has its own messaging webpage. I could forsee skype being integrated there for members to contact each other securely and cheaply.
Perhaps they also have plans to add "live" audio auctions.
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eBay has excelled because they have done one thing very, very well: They let people sell stuff to other people and they take a cut. It's a brilliant business plan and they have executed it well.
The acquision of Skype is probably being pushed by people within eBay wanting to "expand into new market opportunities and businesses" rather than their official explanation of somehow integrating Skype into eBay to let buyers and sellers talk more easily. Email is plenty good for that communication and has been for years now (hence eBay's success). It seems a lot of companies think that because they're good at what they do, they should grow by trying to do a bunch of other things, too, things at which that they often turn out not to be so good.
The acquisition will probably cause a dilution of attention from management to both businesses and negatively impact both.
Email is good. but skype would be better. Especially for high cost items.
Quote:
PayPal and Skype also make a powerful combination. For example, a PayPal wallet associated with each Skype account could make it much easier for users to pay for Skype fee-based services, adding to the number of PayPal accounts and increasing payment volume.
In addition, Skype can help expand the eBay and PayPal global footprint by providing buyers and sellers in emerging ecommerce markets, such as China, India, and Russia, with a more personal way to communicate online. And consumers in markets where eBay currently has a limited presence, such as Japan and Scandinavia, can learn about eBay and PayPal through Skype. Skype can also help streamline cross-border trading and communications.
Pay for your skype bill using paypal....yeah. You are definitely seeing ads :roll:
Holy Cow! Synergies or not, talk about over-paying for a company. How much would it have cost Ebay just to build their own VOIP company? A lot less than 2.5 billions dollars, I'm sure.
This is reminiscent of the dot-com bubble days where it seemed every company fresh off an IPO had more money than they knew what to do with and blew it foolishly. Anyone remember the sock puppet ads during the Super Bowl? 2+ billion dollars, and oh, by the way, China just banned the product you bought, so good luck tapping that market. :bangin:
It really is a HUGE amount for a company that is service based, not revenue based. No doubt, they will be able to make a bunch with Skype but it is a lot to pay now for it.
Oh well, maybe eBay has a stack of cash and didn't want to pay all the taxes on it. Then, they can eventually spin off Skype and make a killing on the stocks. Revenue be DAMNED!!! :deal:
Kazaa's founders have finally made it. Big money in their pockets...
So, now all these people that left companies like Microsoft to work for Skype are working for eBay? How do they feel? And Siemens has a deal with eBay for VoIP?
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I'm a PayPal customer and a Skype customer, but I don't use Ebay - nor do I want to use Ebay. However, I can see Ebay insisting that, through my using Skype, I take an Ebay icon (possibly with some spyware?).
An additional thought - with Skype Out currently, you pay for your credits and get 180 days to use them, with the period being renewed each time you use some more. How soon will that capability disappear, and the period reduced?
Holy Cow! Synergies or not, talk about over-paying for a company. How much would it have cost Ebay just to build their own VOIP company? A lot less than 2.5 billions dollars, I'm sure.
I believe CNet suggest they could roll their own for about $200,000. My guess is that the number is somewhat higher than that, but FAR less than $2.5B.
Re: Skype into ebay
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