The New York Times’ Saul Hansell has this follow-up piece today about eBay’s deal with Google. Although the deal was big news yesterday because it gives Google the right to sell ads on eBay’s sites outside the U.S. (Yahoo already landed the domestic rights), it’s also noteworthy for Google’s agreement to introduce a Skype-powered click-to-call feature in its ad program.
A lot of skeptics think that Skype’s click-to-call feature, which eBay hopes will generate some serious cash by giving sellers another way to reach buyers, is a novelty that won’t gain much traction and Hansell cites research to back up those doubters. But, whether Skype’s voice access feature does or doesn’t take off, you’ve got to give eBay credit for leveraging its enviable online auction reach to bootstrap its other ventures.
When eBay struck its domestic deal with Yahoo! in May, Yahoo! agreed to use eBay’s PayPal as its main payment system. Now, Google has to use Skype, even though it has a rival service, GoogleTalk.
Hansell quotes AuctionBytes newsletter editor Ina Steiner saying “It looks like eBay is milking its auction site as a cash cow to invest in PayPal and Skype.” Well, yes, but that’s a good thing. The more that eBay puts Skype out there, the better the chance that its $2.6+ billion purchase of the VoIP provider will pay off.
Cynthia Brumfield at 7:08 AM|Comments(0)
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