Skype buttons on eBay obsolete

by Chris Dawson

This post was written in December 2006; specific information contained within it may be out of date.

eBay have dragged their feet introducing Skype buttons in all categories but why worry? With the release of Skype version 3 all you need in your auction is your phone number and Skype will turn it into a clickable link for your customers. In fact it will turn any phone number on a webpage into a a clickable link to initiate a phone call. If you’re in the UK and the number is a landline (begining 01 or 02) you can get free calls for the next six months by spending £10 on credits for other Skype services such as voicemail, SkypeIn or SkypeOut.


eBay spokesperson Hani Durzy said “Although it’s still early, we see opportunity in the Skype Me buttons, particularly on higher priced categories like motors, jewelry, and electronics where buyers often have detailed questions for sellers.” He said eBay continues to gather feedback from the community to improve functionality. Too little, too late!

Regardless how enthusiastic Durzy is about Skype buttons the facts are that eBay have been too slow to allow use of Skype buttons in all categories. By the time they allow them it may well be too late and be superceded by click to call. Don’t forget you can get a SkypeIn number which acts as a land line but directs calls to your computer. If you want to take Skype calls on your normal handset consider the RTX SKYPE Dualphone 3088 for Skype and landline calls in one handset!

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Author: Chris Dawson
Posted at: Thursday, December 14th, 2006 at 10:40 am
Filed Under Uncategorized
 

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One Response to “Skype buttons on eBay obsolete”

  1. TameBay : Your bank account has not been phished! on March 5th, 2007 6:25 pm

    [...] There’s a rather amusing side effect of having the latest version of Skype installed on your computer. The Internet Explorer and FireFox plug in, which turns all phone numbers into clickable links, is causing concern for people who use online banking. Every so often the plug in will find an account number or transaction reference, which looks like a phone number and will turn it into a clickable link along with a small picture of the flag corresponding to the country code. [...]

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