I’m trying to figure out the strategy behind eBay’s purchase of Skype for $4.1 billion, but then again… with Google and Microsoft’s recent VoIP acquisitions, the news is not totally out of left field.
There are some suggesting that the online auction market has matured, and that eBay’s merely trying to enter different playing fields… I don’t buy that. If that’s their play, then their CEO must have had some musings while hanging out at the corner liquor store: Hey, I’m in a liquor store and these guys sell prepaid phone cards… eBay is an auction broker, so why don’t we start selling phone calls too?
I think it’s actually a smart acquisition. What eBay really doesn’t want is to lose market share, but it seems like buying Skype will help them streamline the auction process and ensure that they retain their lead. Skype will bring a new payment option to the mix. Mastercard, Visa, Amex, PayPal, or Skype? A buyer can now close her transaction and, if she’s feeling reluctant to give her credit card information online (what with all the identity theft going around these days), she’ll be able to get in touch with the seller directly, free of charge, and talk to the seller to give the requisite payment information. Providing a free way to link buyer and seller could bring in a whole new set of potential customers, late adopters by definition, who are very hesitant to distribute too many personal bits online.