Could THIS be the REAL reason eBay-Skype hasn't jelled?

Could it be that eBay bidders are too hyper, too "in the moment" to even think about using Skype to call the seller?

Well, that's what

I started to lean in this direction after reading last night's post by Phil Wolff of Skype Journal. He argues, in effect, that as a breed eBay users are kind of like day-traders. This would sort of point to a behavior more like day traders. Make your offer and click, you know.

The way I read Phil's post, he seems to believe that this behavior doesn't lend well to clicking on a Skype me button, calling the seller, asking some questions and then making or raising your bid. Too much of a distraction from the immediate process of bidding.

True. This SkypeMe process sounds like it can be executed rapidly. But if you've ever known a frequent eBay shopper- or to use Phil's metaphor, a day trader- the process I described in the last graf is just too dang slow.

Phil suggests that for these types, a better form of communication would be a simple phone number you could type in directly from the eBay interface. That might be something that those Type A, hyperactive eBay bidders could live with.

Makes so much sense, one wonders why eBay didn't weight this factor when they bought Skype $2.6 billion dollars ago?