eBay: Just ‘SkypeMe’ Baby

After a long run up, and still billed as a "pilot proram," eBay is launching "SkypeMe" functionality in the US in 14 seller categories starting June 19:

• Automotive GPS devices
• Camera and photo lenses and filters
• Wired networking routers
• Skype devices
• VOIP / Internet telephony
• Diamond solitaire rings
• Real estate (residential, commercial)
• Manufacturing and metalworking
• Beds
• NBA basketball cards
• Silver coins
• Lost in Space collectibles
• Radio control toys
• Cars and trucks

Here's what the release says:

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.”

It will be interesting to see how widely this is used and whether it improves transaction rates, and in what categories. ContactAtOnce found in its trials with the auto vertical that there was 25% lift in leads from the addition of an IM icon on seller websites.

One potential barrier/friction point here is that users must download Skype. Once they do, will they start using it for calls? Recall that SkypeOut is free until the end of the year for US users. Here's some skepticism on that last point.

In general I would hypothesize, as the Bill Cobb quote above suggests, that in "high consideration" categories, we'll see the most usage. But it could turn out that this is widely used across categories. Among the 14 above, there are only two "offline" segements, Cars and Real Estate. I will also be interested to see whether those gain more usage though there's no reason to believe that this will necessarily be the case.

The premise that more communication between buyers and sellers will benefit sellers in the long run is a good assumption. If this "works" expect a wider rollout across all categories and a more rapid introduction of Skype as a true advertising vehicle in the US (pay per lead, PPCall), as has previously been promised.

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Related: NY Times article on the deal and Om Malik on Skype-PayPal integration.