As anticipated eBay has announced its pilot integration of Skype. From June 19th onwards, U.S. eBay sellers would have the option of adding a SkypeMe button to individual item listings in fourteen select categories. The prospective buyer would be able to contact the seller by voice or IM. As of now the users can add a SkypeMe button to their personal profile and not to individual items for sale.

The categories which have found place in the pilot project are:

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

These categories were selected as eBay believed that instant communication of these items would help sales. It is yet to be seen whether sellers would welcome voice or IM contact from prospective users. It is being already speculated that this step could eat into the earnings of eBay as Skype would make it easier to complete transactions outside eBay auctions.

via techcrunch