[Asterisk-Users] Skype purchased by Ebay 2.6 Billion

[Race Vanderdecken]

Hmmm,

	Let me see.

	"Skype has 54 million registered users that the online retailer
eBay can add to its marketing arsenal. The initial payment of $2.6
billion values those registered users at just more than $48 each"

	Skype has current revenue of about $60,000,000 a year.

	$60,000,000 divided by 54,000,000 customers = $1.11 dollars per
customer per year.

	So, eBay just paid $48 for a customer that generates $1.11 a
year. That is 43 years for eBay to get back their money if each customer
continues at the current rate.

	But somehow eBay is going to get these fanatic spenders to spend
more money. My 15 year old son has Skype account and buy/sells on eBay.
So that is one new customer they won't get.

	If you take the normal mass mailing return rate of about 3% and
apply it here then eBay just paid $2,600,000,000 for 1,620,000 customers
or
$1,604 per realistic paying customer.

	Wasn't AOL going to take control of the internet with its buy of
Time Warner?
	Wasn't Sony going to control the Walkman world with its buy of
the Movie and Song Catalogs?
	Wasn't Amazon.com going to control not only the online book
market but also all the catalog stuff?
	
	These guys at eBay are not very bright, They must be in there
twenties or something. 

	This is the same Hype, rhymes with Skype, which we all heard in
the 90's and during the crash. "We no have 100 zillion customers that
have our service for free and they will begin to pay us money for the
free service and we will control the world and get rich by giving things
away!"

	"How you ask, while we will pay $1600 per customer, charge them
nothing, and make if up in the fantastic volume pricing we are going to
do."

	 sad, and I thought the government (pick Local, County, State,
Federal) doing a bad job after Katrina was the only disaster this week.


	Race "the tyrant" Vanderdecken