Welcome to this edition of Adam Ginsberg's "Insiders" Newsletter. Each issue is designed to provide you with insights, tips, secrets and overall strategies on how you can build your online auctions business. I'm sure you love this issue! This week the topic is: "How you can talk to anyone, anywhere for FREE forever!

The "Skype" Is The Limit! 

Making money on eBay requires skill, strategy and technique. To make money on eBay you also want to keep your expenses as low as possible. One of your biggest expenses - both in your business and in your personal life - is your long distance phone service.

Recently, eBay purchased Skype. Along with the publicity that came from this purchase, and the promotion of Skype on eBay's home page, most eBay sellers I speak with still are not using Skype. eBay is now 10+ years old. In the last decade, the Internet has come along way. Technology has changed the way we live our lives. Do yo remember when a long distance call couldn't be made until after 10:00 at night so that you would receive discounted long distance rates? Times are certainly different now.

The relationship between eBay and Skype is a good one. At the end of the day, eBay’s genius is to put buyers in touch with sellers so efficiently that even the smallest commercial transactions are possible. eBay, the world's online marketplace, has grown into a massive worldwide community in excess of 180 million members. Similarly, In just two and half years, Skype has attracted more than 100 million registered users worldwide who are saving big-time on long-distance phone calls over the net.

Are you using Skype in your business? If not, why?

Additionally, more than 2 million Skype users have signed up for the value-added SkypeOut service. This service actually enables you to easily reach traditional landline numbers outside the Skype community. SkypeOut subscribers can connect directly to American, Australian or European landline phone numbers for about 2 cents a minute. Calls to most other countries range from a dime to a quarter per minute.

In a few months I'll be speaking live in Perth, Australia. Just this morning (during prime time business hours) I had a 50 minute conversation with the seminar promoter who was located in Melbourne, Australia. The cost of the call: $1. Traditional long distance rates to Australia can be in excess of $1.5, depending on your long distance provider. As such, this call would have cost almost $75....Skype can basically eliminate your entire long distance bill. The savings go right to the profitability of your business. FYI: Skype works for any business, not just an eBay business.

YOUR Communications Command Post

Skype isn’t just another bargain-rate internet phone company. It's not another VOIP (voice over Internet) long distance provider. Skype is a web application from the ground up, marrying voice calls with instant messaging and all the conveniences IM can offer those doing business over the internet. That union starts with a common contact list for IM and phone buddies wrapped inside a small, portable desktop applet with an easy-to-use interface.

Version 2.0 (version 2.5 is already available in beta) of Skype's tiny voice applet achieves better-than-landline call quality over a $10 headset or by adding a $10 PC microphone to your PC’s built-in speakers. Additionally, new Skype phones are being released for those who just have to have that traditional phone-call experience. They connect to one of your PC’s USB ports, and many, like the $130 Linksys CIT2000 Skype Phone are cordless. They automatically download your Skype desktop with the size and operating characteristics of a cell phone. Of course, the best place to get a headset, PC microphone or linksys phone is on eBay!

Skype also includes free call forwarding, so you won’t miss a call if you’re not logged in to your PC. Skype can be quickly configured to have incoming calls ring on another Skype-equipped PC or any combination of three landlines or mobile phones (if you have SkypeOut for off-network calls).

THIS IS COOL: eBay merchants who find a preponderance of their business calls coming from one or more phone exchanges – New York’s 212 area code or Los Angeles’ 213, for example – can establish a SkypeIn phone number for a few dollars a month or $35 a year. A SkypeIn phone number gives your business a local presence in any area code in the world, encouraging customer contact. Time zones being what they are, each SkypeIn phone number comes with free voicemail, too, so you can answer calls when it’s convenient.

The Future of Skype

Like so many technologies nowadays, Skype built its membership base from "word of mouth". However, today almost one-third or registered Skype users make their business calls with the service on a regular basis. As a result, many of Skype's latest initiatives address the needs of growing businesses.

Skype Groups, for example, lets you use a single account to provision an entire office or several offices with Skype phone and IM services. If you have employees that travel or are in distant offices can, they can actually get one-click toll-free voice access to each other as easily as with an IM message.

Here's a cool feature: a Skype voice or IM chat can include up to four participants, and free videoconferencing is available to anyone whose PC has an inexpensive video camera attached. An increasingly popular alternative to business meetings, videoconferencing could also be used for product demonstrations.

Another great feature of Skype is that it can be used for transferring digital product photos, user manuals, FAQ’s or other files. To make these kinds of web interactions easier still, Skype offers free, preprogrammed HTML links that can be added to any web page, product description or Outlook e-mail. You can put a Skype image on your non-eBay website home and make it super easy for customers and prospects to reach you. Think about this...it used to be that a small business would pay hundreds (if not more) of dollars each month for incoming 800#'s. All of that goes away when you have Skype.

The Internet has changed the way we live our lives. It has changed the way we do business and it provides unprecedented financial opportunity. It's hard to calculate the potential savings and the potential income opportunities that will arise from the merger of Skype and eBay. Are you ready to get started with Skype?

Just A Few More Cool Skype Features:

Skype 2.0 is jampacked with features. And, as I mentioned above, version 2.5 is now available in beta. Skype will only get better over time. Here are just a few cool Skype features...

Skype Video : See your friends and family on the full computer screen or in the Skype calling window. Skype video also includes a window that lets you view what you look like to the person you’re calling.

Simplified User Interface: This is an intuitive menu with one-click access to key features and options that make it easy for the whole world to talk for free.

Self-expression: You'll be able to broadcast your mood along with your online presence. Let your contacts know whether you’re happy, sad, listening to your favorite music, available to talk or do not want to be disturbed.

Personalization: You can personalize your Skype identity with avatars or custom ring tones

Your Contact’s Time Zones: Before you wake up your friends, family or colleagues, take a quick glance to see what time it is in their location.

Contact Grouping: You'll be able to organize your contacts by grouping your friends, co-workers or family members. Start conference calls, chats or file sharing with the whole group with just one click.

Recently I was at a conference and met someone who lived in the U.K. He said to me, "do you use Skype"? My reply: "I've heard of it, but never used it." That was less than 9 weeks ago. I never got involved with Skype simply because I didn't understand the potential that it offered. After a quick 4 minute overview I knew I had to get this system up and going. It was simple, easy and took almost no time to get started. It's one of the top business decisions I've made this year.

Skype is the future of communications - and the future is now!

Until next time…

Knowing No Boundaries,