Skype Out

Posted on April 21, 2008

Skype In, Skype Out is the way they describe the calls received and made via Skype.

If I was eBay, Out is what I would do with Skype. It’s actually grown some since they’ve owned it, but it is an ill-fitting shoe for the auction company and needs to be sent to a parent that knows the communication arena and can optimize its potential. While it has sort of grown on its own under eBay ownership, there seems to be little clear direction for its future.

They might actually recoup what they paid which would be great as the purchase seemed pointless at the time and the waters have never cleared enough to make out the plan they had in mind. In fact, as with a lot of companies who get cash heavy, they may have run out and bought something just because they could and it seemed like the right thing to do.

Perhaps eBay envisioned using Skype to facilitate some kind of Live Auction process to accommodate call-in bidders by using their own network. Whatever, nothing much seems to have materialized from the buyout.

Skype announced new and expanded calling plans today. The new plans seemed to have little to do with price structure and more to do with creating some kind of awareness with the consumer that Skype is a real communications company and not just an old line PC-to-PC calling service. All of this may simply be the beginning of the end for Skype as an eBay holding. Today’s announcement may be what HGTV calls curb appeal, making the house look good from the street, creating immediate buyer interest.