Skype! swallowed by ebay.omigod

i dont know whether this is a bad news or not... but ebay have started its acquisition of our friend, Skype...

this is the news from Toms Hardware:

London - Ebay today announced that it will purchase VoIP company Skype in a deal valued between $2.6 and $4.1 billion. The acquisition will allow the online auction leader to access Skype's 54 million users and further diversify its revenue streams with Skype's VoIP services - while free PC-to-PC-based calls will continue to be offered.
The acquisition comes after rumors about a possible deal between the two companies surfaced in the past week and confirms the mainstream appeal of VoIP communications for the business world. According to a statement released on Monday, Ebay intends to integrate Skype into its marketplace and payments platform. "Skype, Ebay and PayPal will create an unparalleled ecommerce and communications engine for buyers and sellers around the world," a statement said.

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Skype, barely two years old, did not come cheap for Ebay. The online auction house pays $2.6 billion in cash and stock - roughly 371 times the revenue Skype achieved in 2004 - plus a performance-based bonus, which could amount to $1.5 billion and will be due in 2008 to 2009 time frame.

"Communications is at the heart of ecommerce and community," said Meg Whitman, President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay. "By combining the two leading ecommerce franchises, eBay and PayPal, with the leader in Internet voice communications, we will create an extraordinarily powerful environment for business on the Net."

According to Ebay, "communications, like payments and shipping, is a critical part" of online shopping processes. The company hopes that Skype will streamline and improve communications between buyers and sellers in its general online auctions - and increase velocity of trade in categories that require more involved communications such as used cars, business and industrial equipment, and high-end collectibles. Ebay indicated that Skype will be a tool to establish pay-per-call communications between sellers and buyers.

Despite the substantial investment, analysts believe that Skype will pay off for Ebay and create the dominating global VoIP provider on the Internet. "The foremost benefit for Ebay clearly is to add a voice client to its services and diversify its revenue with an excellent and strong product," said William Stofega, an analyst with IDC. "Ebay purchased an enormous worldwide brand that comes with a wonderful ecosystem already built. Besides that, the company receives a proprietary technology that does not rely on SIP, but on its own signaling protocols."

Most of Skype's users however are believed to especially use the firm's free PC-to-PC-based voice offering. According to Skype spokeswoman Kelly Larabee, users will be able to use this service free of charge after the acquisition. "We have not altered our commitment to the user," she told Tom's Hardware Guide. "PC-to-PC calls will remain free."

Stofega believes that Ebay is unlikely to make any changes to the way Skype works today. "If Ebay is smart, they will not disrupt the perception of Skype," he said. He believes Ebay could provide Skype more marketing resources and create a more transparent developer community, but otherwise leave today's service unchanged.

According to Ebay, Skype accesses about 54 million members in 225 countries and territories. The service adds approximately 150,000 users a day and is considered the market leader in virtually all countries in which it does business. In North America alone, Skype has more users and serves more voice minutes than any other Internet voice communications provider, Ebay said.

Source: Tom's Hardware

I don't see how this could possibly be to my advantage, since up to now I've only used Skype's free services, but maybe it won't be greatly to my disadvantage either. If they're going to add advertising without limiting the current services, I can probably live with it.

I think Ebay wants to get the first-mover position in the VOIP market by buying Skype. Skype is the clear leader in the free VOIP market, and Ebay would want to have an advantage and buy Skype. It's like back in the old days of the dotcom boom. Whoever controls the eyeballs (read: visitors) controls the money and profits.

The investing world is full of guesses right now as to why eBay bought Skype, and what they're going to do with it. Among the guesses is that there's no point in trying to make much sense out of it, because it's a boo-boo, or that Meg Whatshername isn't planning to do anything to connect Skype with eBay, and that it's just intended as a stand-alone money-maker. Even as a stand-alone they don't know how she's planning to 'monetize' it, as the jargon goes, but it's popular and technically successful, so there is likely to be a solution.

Like the article said, Skype doesn't make much profits out of the paid services they offer. Advertisements are very vague and talking over the net is free! In my opinion, Ebay's buying of Skype would produce a tremendous impact on how we would be using Skype in the future. Talks might be limited to certain amounts of time per day for each person and such. Advertisements would be crazily adundant and prices for the paid services will go up. Right now, i don't see any problems with Skype at all. It's a great program developed by a great team of developers and the thought of changing all that is just horrible....Why does the world revolve around money so much?

they are having some promotion now. u can have extra dolar now when u buy skype out credit using paypal.. around 2 euros they give me... i have tried skype out recently and when i made a call to malaysia, im having some lagging problem...but pc-to-pc is excellent.. i wonder how he code this little program... very talented!

I don't use Skype but I don't know how Skype can be such a good program / software. I have used it before but didn't find it to my liking. Well, that's because I didn't have a microphone and I don't have faraway friends. I could just use the phone!! Simple as that.But can someone tell me how Skype makes money? What about Ebay? Where does all their money come from? I mean, it doesn't just appear!! The most interesting thing is Skype. I never ever saw their advertisements (if they had any) and if they did, where are they?

I don't use Skype but I don't know how Skype can be such a good program / software. I have used it before but didn't find it to my liking. Well, that's because I didn't have a microphone and I don't have faraway friends. I could just use the phone!! Simple as that.

 

But can someone tell me how Skype makes money? What about Ebay? Where does all their money come from? I mean, it doesn't just appear!! The most interesting thing is Skype. I never ever saw their advertisements (if they had any) and if they did, where are they?

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Skype make their money by charging people who call phone numbers. You can phone other Skype members for free, but you have to pay to call a phone line. Skype is popular, because the rates it charges are generally cheaper than the standard rates offered by phone companies.

Also, people can pay a monthly subscription fee (or something like that) and get thier own phone number, in a country of thier choice, for example, someone with Skype could buy a London phone number, and even if htey were to go abroad, thier friends could call then on thier laptop, for the cost of a phonecall to London.

 

eBay don't charge for people to list thier items, but they charge if you want them to host your auction images for you, they charge to make your listings bold, highlighted, and other things which are supposedly to mkae it more noticeable by potential buyers.

And because eBay have brought PayPal, they get money from PayPal's fees.

 

Hope this helps

Yeah, and in addition, if something bad could happen to skype out of this, we all could move to google talk

hey,i just wondered that with skype, do you have to buy the phone, or just download the software from the internet?

Just download the software, do a sound check to see if your microphone works, I do recommend a headset for skype though. If you have a seperate soundcard and have the settings right, then you can use your speakers and just a mic without them interfering, but as I said - the settings are important. I also recommend to make sure your privacy settings are up so that only those you have authorized can call you, you'll get a lot of sad guys talking to you to ask to cyber with them, just insult them a little and laugh - that's what I do and then I block em

i think skype is just wonderful. because it use p2p tech so that you are under protection for anonymous talking. it is just very difficult to hide and listen to others.

.....NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I have to admit I didn't use Skype at all, but now it's being swallowed up by eBay...

 

Shame, on you, Meg Whitman. Shame on you.

hey,

i just wondered that with skype, do you have to buy the phone, or just download the software from the internet?

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You just download the software. For hardware, you need a computer with speakers and a microphone. The software is free, and does a rather good job. You can also call 'real' phones, but that costs money.

what i love about skype is:1) it works better than yahoo voice, really2. you should try to make a comparison.2)it works behind firewall and proxy. my network is behind server firewall and use proxy. however i still make a call. I tried to use google talk, it is totally suck. i can even hear the other party's voice3) everybody can use it... coz google talk only restricted for its gmail members. What's wrong with that?yahoo also for its members only... the thing is, yahoo got superalot no of members, not gmail. plus, gmail used to be just-for-invitation-only program which put a great barrier for new user to sign up...