Question
http://www.investors.com/editorial/tech01.asp?v=1/18
Call it eBay mail.
On Tuesday, eBay Inc. (EBAY) plans to begin a service that lets its customers set up e-mail accounts and get all their auction information on one Web site.
EBay, the No. 1 online auctioneer, will offer the service for free, through a partnership with e-mail services provider Incamail.
The e-commerce company hopes the offer will entice more people to buy and sell stuff on its site. It'll pay Incamail a fee for boosting the auctioneer's action.
"EBay is very reliant on e-mail, and we're closing the gap between eBay and e-mail," said Valentine Sheldon, chief executive of privately held Incamail.
But the e-mail to be provided by eBay-Incamail carries a bonus beyond making it easy to use eBay's auction services. The e-mail accounts include software designed to block spam. The e-mail accounts are easily disposable. That, too, is a way to combat spam.
Firms such as eBay are trying to make it easier for customers to avoid junk mail, says Sheldon. EBay declined to comment before the official announcement.
A disposable e-mail address is one way around spam. Say a customer signs up for the service and gets an e-mail account named JaneDoe*incamail.com. Presumably, Jane will use this account mostly for eBay stuff, and keep another e-mail account for other communications. Then, several months down the road, say JaneDoe*incamail is getting a lot of spam. She can just dump it and set up another account. To make sure the accounts work correctly, all subsequent accounts would need ebay in the name, such as JDoeebay*incamail.com.
People can set up as many as 25 e-mail addresses with the Incamail service.
Ends 'Death Struggle'
"You don't have to get into this death struggle with spammers that have sniffed out your address," said Jonathan Stern, chief operating officer for Incamail.
Incamail also provides users with a personal Web page where they can get updates on the bidding process for products they are trying to buy or sell.
They can also get access to other eBay services such as PayPal, the firm's electronic payment service.
Incamail's service is designed to help consumers handle their buying and selling on eBay more quickly, says Stern.
"We give them a launching pad for their transactions," he said.
If they can cut down on spam and make the whole process easy, customers should be in a better mood to do more business online, says Tim Hickernell, an analyst for research firm the Meta Group.
"EBay has seen the negative impact that spam has had on people," he said. "They'd like to limit the amount of spam their customers see."
Sheldon says there's little chance that a legitimate bidder's e-mail to an eBay seller would be taken for spam and thus blocked. That's because the Incamail service will tap into eBay's database of 30 million registered users.
"We're able to look into eBay's database and see whether the (e-mail sender) is OK so that we don't reject an e-mail," he said.
Incamail has about 6,000 e-mail users. No user pays for the service. Incamail says it has about 100 e-tail customers, including Amazon.com Inc., (AMZN) Expedia Inc. and Orbitz Inc.
Incamail customers can choose a Web site they often visit. If they choose Amazon, for example, links to that company's features and departments will be included on that person's e-mail page, says Stern.
Most partner companies pay Incamail a commission of from 5% to 15% of each transaction that closes with the help of their e-mail service.
Not For Everyone
The eBay pact differs in that Incamail gets its fee per bid made via its Web page, not transaction.
The free e-mail provided by companies such as Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) via its Hotmail unit also can be considered disposable. It's easy to create new accounts. But people tend to use those e-mail accounts as their main e-mail, so changing it often is a hassle.
Also, unlike Incamail, the other free e-mail services don't provide a one-stop shop for e-mail and another site for doing business online, such as having eBay, Amazon, Expedia or Orbitz data right there on the same page.
But Incamail's e-mail service won't appeal to all, says Meta's Hickernell. "An e-mail portal system is an intriguing concept for a consumer who relies on e-mail quite heavily" and who uses an eBay or an Amazon often, he said. "But I'm not sure about (everyone)."
Ret
Janet * Lanetzliving.com
My Website, up and running and I already sold stuff!! woo hoo!....
Me Page
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Am I the only one who is thinking that eBay giving people "disposable email addresses" to conduct business falls into the "what the *&%$ are they smoking" catagory?
I hate spam, but this is stupid. Telling sellers (or buyers for that matter) to change their email address every couple of months is going to lead to a lot of comunication problems.
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
-- Decca Recording Co. (Rejecting the Beatles - 1962)
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No, you're not the only one. What are they smoking over there?
And why would they include a spam filter. Spam filters are the biggest problem with communicating via email these days.
Finer Fashions on Ebay, top designers, latest styles. Visit our Boutique
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Even if it is successful, anyone want to take bets on how long it will remain "free" http://community.here.com/infopop/em.../icon_wink.gif
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Is there a reason they can't just concentrate on auctions? Sheesh!
How soon until we'll be forced to use their email services?
Lynn
Lynnber almost everywhere
selling books and other stuff
Lots and lots of my Ebay Auctions
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>The eBay pact differs in that Incamail gets its fee per bid made via its Web page, not transaction. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
This is one of those "partner" type deals where the "partner" gets paid by how many bids are generated from his web page. I don't think ebay initiates these "deals"...I think the prospective partner comes to ebay with their proposal and ebay agrees to the proposal. Just like they did with the web sites that paid people to click on advertisers, or the recent one where the guy was using google to get people to click on ebay.
Even though the initial idea is coming from outside sources, the ebay employees who are ok-ing these "partnerships" really need their heads examined!! Either that, or they need a crash course in Reality 101...because they are ok-ing partnerships which are just a shade short of being scams, or are so ripe for abuse that few wouldn't abuse it.
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Once again, eBay decides "something sounds good" and jumps in to promote yet another "enhancement~ http://community.here.com/infopop/em...n_rolleyes.gif~improvement" BEFORE they bother to THINK about what the ramifications just MIGHT be!??! http://community.here.com/infopop/em.../icon_razz.gif
Far too many "ugly possibilities" with that email plan! http://community.here.com/3/ws/emoticons/nono.gif
If the PTB that are making these decisions were building cars...THIS would be the "eBayMobile:....
http://www.databrothers.net/pages/tr...1020002-01.jpg
Site STABILITY!
DEPENDABLE search engine results!
Promotions that get people *TO* the site!
Things that make it EASY to use...for buyers *AND* sellers!
Pages that LOAD this century for people on dial~up!
[i]Perhaps ebay needs to learn what the word PRIORITIZATION means...and apply it starting with ^that list^ up there.....
....once those things are "enhanced & improved" to where they are no longer a topic of discussion on the boards for at least 3 or 4 months straight....THEN go off and play with OTHER stuff! http://community.here.com/infopop/em.../icon_cool.gif
Pierre built the site in his garage.....they NEED to find those "roots" and GET IT SIMPLE once again!
<shoving my soapbox back to the closet for the day http://community.here.com/infopop/em.../icon_wink.gif >
<---Ken....who has been successfully packratting for over 4 decades now!
Check HERE for things dragged down from the attic to sell THIS week!
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huh???
and this differs from yahoo, hotmail etc....how??
looks like another part of the....let's support the scam artists a little while longer so we can milk the innocent while remaining only a venue
plan
_____________________
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and this differs from yahoo, hotmail etc....how??
By an "eBay partner" telling active sellers and buyers to change email addresses everytime a little spam shows up their box.
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
-- Decca Recording Co. (Rejecting the Beatles - 1962)
Answer
"The e-mail accounts include software designed to block spam."
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Sheldon says there's little chance that a legitimate bidder's e-mail to an eBay seller would be taken for spam and thus blocked. That's because the Incamail service will tap into eBay's database of 30 million registered users.
"We're able to look into eBay's database and see whether the (e-mail sender) is OK so that we don't reject an e-mail," he said.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>"
==========
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Incamail has about 6,000 e-mail users. No user pays for the service. Incamail says it has about 100 e-tail customers, including Amazon.com Inc., (AMZN) Expedia Inc. and Orbitz Inc.
Incamail customers can choose a Web site they often visit. If they choose Amazon, for example, links to that company's features and departments will be included on that person's e-mail page, says Stern.
Most partner companies pay Incamail a commission of from 5% to 15% of each transaction that closes with the help of their e-mail service.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
How does a business with 6000 clients broker a deal that gives them payment for every bid placed by one of their email addresses, and the right of access to every email address on Ebay?
The deal that Incamail has with other companies, actually gives them a bigger bite than Ebay gets from many of my transactions, when they play the role of actual agent. An amazing deal for an email supplier!
http://community.here.com/3/ws/emoticons/ignore.gif , Kevin