Ebay and Skype
Recently there have been lots of developments on the eBay and Skype front. At eBay live earlier this month, it was announced that the ability to place SkypeMe buttons would be available in several categories on eBay, eBay motors, and Lost in Space are two. In fact, several non US sites have allowed SkypeMe buttons for some time now. (China and Belgium are two.)
Some people said "We have been able to do that ever since SkypeMe buttons have been around, haven't we?" Technically you were able to, but according to eBay's links policy, you were not actually allowed to. How do I know this?
I know this because I am the developer of the Boomerang Callback System, which was released earlier this year. Boomerang is designed to do something similar to SkypeMe buttons on eBay, but to do it better. However eBay have told me several times, very clearly, that my application, which was built using all 3 APIs (Paypal,Skype,eBay), is not welcome on eBay.
So what does Boomerang do that terrifies eBay so much? Well, if you place a Boomerang Callback Button on your auction listing, users can see if you are online or offline. Then if you are online and they click the button, they can enter their own phone number or skype name and request a callback. The callback request goes to the Boomerang client installed on your Skype installed PC, and when you accept it, the Boomerang client will automatically call your buyer back over Skype.
So how is it different to SkypeMe buttons? Well in terms of function it is way ahead, it has call queueing, the eBay buyer doesn't need skype, the call request shows information on the auction item in question(title,current price, remaining time etc) and a bunch of other stuff. But in terms of the links policy, well it is not really different to SkypeMe buttons at all.
However if you use Boomerang Buttons, and not SkypeMe buttons, I was told that [eBay]
Of course I most definitely did not want users of my system to find themselves in that situation.
So I chose to find a route to get my application certifiable within eBay's guidelines. I asked, in separate enquiries, no less than 4 times, what I needed to do to make Boomerang acceptable to eBay. No answer to that question has yet been received. Most replies were of the form, that their hands were tied because of the links policy. The closest I got to an explanation from eBay was their first rejection,
This was hardly a roadmap to certification, and didn't really give me any avenue to pursue. Not to mention the obvious fact that Boomerang is not a live chat system. It is a click to call system. Skype however is, among other things, a live chat system.
All this happened before eBay live and the news about eBay / Skype integration. So after all the hype died down, I asked if this meant that the links policy was to be revised, and got this response
Bureaucrats often wave at policy documents as though they were laws of physics. But policy douments are not. eBay openly flouts their own links policy in the name of a "test", but can change it just as soon as it suits them. Until then 3rd parties like myself are at a decided disadvantage. In fact it makes a mockery of the developer program that the Skype integration process is so clandestine and inconsistent.
There is also now a special eBay Skype client (get it from here) with the a new embedded eBay tab featuring the ability to track listings and auction activity. There are soon to be new menus in Skype to facilitate sending and receiving money by Paypal. These are things no 3rd party developer can do yet with Skype.
The optimistic view of this behaviour is that eBay's caution in [deciding] "to test the efficacy of [click to call] internally prior to releasing the functionality" is to prevent offsite trading. But it is obvious that the real test is on how popular the feature will be, and how best to charge for it. eBay is clearly preparing to implement pay per call on its Skype network. Putting SkypeMe buttons on auction listings will not be free for very long. In fact they have reportedly told analysts to expect income as they charge sellers to show their Skype button. An outline of the strategy is available here.
As further proof it appears eBay is preparing to roll out its own callback solution via Skype. Skype corporate development vice-president Geoffrey Prentice is reported to have said in while visiting Sydney in May that
I don't think that there is anything intrinsically unsafe in allowing click to call or callback links on eBay listings. This is evident in the fact that eBay is itself pursuing both. My opinion is that eBay doesn't want Boomerang or anything like it on EBay, because they can't profit from it, and it will take business away from their own, as yet unfinished, pay per call system.
Perhaps the eBay Developer program should be subtitled "You innovate, we'll profit." Perhaps we developers should wake up and start looking in Google's direction. I certainly am.
Recently there have been lots of developments on the eBay and Skype front. At eBay live earlier this month, it was announced that the ability to place SkypeMe buttons would be available in several categories on eBay, eBay motors, and Lost in Space are two. In fact, several non US sites have allowed SkypeMe buttons for some time now. (China and Belgium are two.)
Some people said "We have been able to do that ever since SkypeMe buttons have been around, haven't we?" Technically you were able to, but according to eBay's links policy, you were not actually allowed to. How do I know this?
I know this because I am the developer of the Boomerang Callback System, which was released earlier this year. Boomerang is designed to do something similar to SkypeMe buttons on eBay, but to do it better. However eBay have told me several times, very clearly, that my application, which was built using all 3 APIs (Paypal,Skype,eBay), is not welcome on eBay.
So what does Boomerang do that terrifies eBay so much? Well, if you place a Boomerang Callback Button on your auction listing, users can see if you are online or offline. Then if you are online and they click the button, they can enter their own phone number or skype name and request a callback. The callback request goes to the Boomerang client installed on your Skype installed PC, and when you accept it, the Boomerang client will automatically call your buyer back over Skype.
So how is it different to SkypeMe buttons? Well in terms of function it is way ahead, it has call queueing, the eBay buyer doesn't need skype, the call request shows information on the auction item in question(title,current price, remaining time etc) and a bunch of other stuff. But in terms of the links policy, well it is not really different to SkypeMe buttons at all.
However if you use Boomerang Buttons, and not SkypeMe buttons, I was told that [eBay]
"cannot guarantee that sellers will not receive warnings, item endings or suspensions."
Of course I most definitely did not want users of my system to find themselves in that situation.
So I chose to find a route to get my application certifiable within eBay's guidelines. I asked, in separate enquiries, no less than 4 times, what I needed to do to make Boomerang acceptable to eBay. No answer to that question has yet been received. Most replies were of the form, that their hands were tied because of the links policy. The closest I got to an explanation from eBay was their first rejection,
"we do not permit a Link or other connections to live chat systems in the item description."
This was hardly a roadmap to certification, and didn't really give me any avenue to pursue. Not to mention the obvious fact that Boomerang is not a live chat system. It is a click to call system. Skype however is, among other things, a live chat system.
All this happened before eBay live and the news about eBay / Skype integration. So after all the hype died down, I asked if this meant that the links policy was to be revised, and got this response
" We are not adjusting our Links Policy to allow third parties to offer Skype functionality within item page listings during this test. While we certainly rely on and value the innovative contributions of companies like yourself, we’ve decided to test the efficacy of this program internally prior to releasing the functionality to outside companies."
This was perhaps the only reply I had from eBay which acknowledged some level of inconsistency in the application of their links policy, and a possibility of change. It was also, I admit, in reply to a slightly less than cool e mail from me.Bureaucrats often wave at policy documents as though they were laws of physics. But policy douments are not. eBay openly flouts their own links policy in the name of a "test", but can change it just as soon as it suits them. Until then 3rd parties like myself are at a decided disadvantage. In fact it makes a mockery of the developer program that the Skype integration process is so clandestine and inconsistent.
There is also now a special eBay Skype client (get it from here) with the a new embedded eBay tab featuring the ability to track listings and auction activity. There are soon to be new menus in Skype to facilitate sending and receiving money by Paypal. These are things no 3rd party developer can do yet with Skype.
The optimistic view of this behaviour is that eBay's caution in [deciding] "to test the efficacy of [click to call] internally prior to releasing the functionality" is to prevent offsite trading. But it is obvious that the real test is on how popular the feature will be, and how best to charge for it. eBay is clearly preparing to implement pay per call on its Skype network. Putting SkypeMe buttons on auction listings will not be free for very long. In fact they have reportedly told analysts to expect income as they charge sellers to show their Skype button. An outline of the strategy is available here.
As further proof it appears eBay is preparing to roll out its own callback solution via Skype. Skype corporate development vice-president Geoffrey Prentice is reported to have said in while visiting Sydney in May that
"EBay would use Skype to add a call-back option to its Australian auction site later this year, including features such as presence awareness, allowing auction bidders to speak to sellers during a transaction."
I don't think that there is anything intrinsically unsafe in allowing click to call or callback links on eBay listings. This is evident in the fact that eBay is itself pursuing both. My opinion is that eBay doesn't want Boomerang or anything like it on EBay, because they can't profit from it, and it will take business away from their own, as yet unfinished, pay per call system.
Perhaps the eBay Developer program should be subtitled "You innovate, we'll profit." Perhaps we developers should wake up and start looking in Google's direction. I certainly am.
