Ebay / Skype finance links. Something about a multi-legged monster and Santa who might bring black pete to put some people in the bag...

Apart from the information below, I wonder what kind of marketing Skype will develop during the upcoming economic recession. Some people say that now people will certainly use the free VoIP option more than the paid PSTN and cellphone calling. Maybe. What I believe is that many users will NOT convert to paying customers, but try (due to less money available) to convince the other side to use the free p2p calling. Hence Skype might end even more than 380 mio users (grin, grin) and decreasing percentage paying customers... This should not be a problem for a company who used to put the slogans "sharing is good" and "free telephony" in the front...

Sometimes I wonder if Skype is something like the extra leg attached to the body of the giant called eBay. Did you ever try to walk with 3 legs ? Meaning. Maybe it's better to cut of the leg and attach it to some body that really needs a third leg. Of course the comparison does not fly totally, but my point is that I still don't see the synergy between eBay and Skype. Apart then for the fact that eBay pumped a lot of money and people into Skype.

So why don't they (eBay) cut Skype loose totally and let it do it's thing ?

Maybe eBay / Skype marketing could ask one simple question to their 380 mio customers/users (it would be a piece of cake to send a global message via their extensive global p2p chat system, right...) and that question would be "Do you think skype should be disconnected from eBay ?"

In mean time, I will make myself a multi-legged USBhub-monster.

As eBay?s Core Business Hits Hard Times, Skype Begins To Shine
Washington Post, United States - 15 Oct 2008
Another eBay business that is holding its own, surprisingly, is Skype. Revenues for the third quarter were $143 million. Although its growth rate is slowing ...
Is Skype on sale at eBay? CNNMoney.com
EBay swings to profit following Skype charges MarketWatch
eBay fears Christmas gloom Scotsman
Motley Fool - Telecom Paper (subscription)
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Forecast disappoints investors as economy, restructuring takes its ...
MarketWatch - USA
... profit after taking a loss in the same period last year following a massive write-off of its acquisition of Internet telephony provider Skype.

eBay cuts forecast as shares slump
Irish Independent - Dublin,Ireland
eBay paid over $3bn for Skype in 2005. "Clearly, gross merchandise volume in the third quarter was not what we would have liked," chief executive John ...
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eBay fears Christmas gloom
Scotsman - United Kingdom
eBay also runs internet call service Skype and web payments service Paypal. John Donahoe, the firm's chief executive, said: "There is a high degree of ...
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Put your PC to work and watch savings mount
Atlanta Journal Constitution - GA, USA
Many readers can move to lower priced plans by using Skype (www.skype.com). Computer-to-computer calls to other Skype users are truly free. ...
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