Ebay rejects Jajah buttons service

Deal scrapped within days of launch

Written by Andrea-Marie Vassou, Computeract!ve

Ebay has pulled the plug on Jajah's plans to let buyers and sellers access its online telephony service through the site.

The internet telephony service provider had announced earlier this week that Ebay sellers who sign up for its service plan could place the Jajah Button on the 'meet the seller' section of the bidding page.

Potential buyers could click on the button and call the seller to ask questions about the item they are interested in. If the sellers accepts the call, the minutes are charged to their Jajah account.

Advertisement

The service connects both parties phone-to-phone and does not require any special hardware or software.

A number of Ebay power sellers had already started using these buttons, however, it was removed overnight by Ebay because it said adding the button: “Violated the Ebay Inappropriate Links policy” as “links or other connections to live chat systems are not permitted.”

However, Jajah hit back at this putting the revolt down to the auction sites difficulties with partner VoIP service Skype.

Roman Scharf, Co-Founder of Jajah, said: “Our vision was simply to bring voice communication to one of the world's greatest marketplaces for eCommerce. With millions of registered users, Jajah is hardly an 'inappropriate' organisation.

"We were seeing great excitement for Jajah buttons on Ebay and we are disappointed that some of our user’s listings are now being removed."

Mr Scharf also said that the buttons “provide trust and safety by safeguarding Ebay Seller IDs while providing enhanced Ebay Buyer information and protection” as owners can set the times they are available to receive calls and which phone they want the calls to go to, without revealing the number.

However, Jajah buttons can still be integrated into websites, blogs, email footers or social-networking pages. To use the buttons a user must first register with Jajah or log into an existing account.

They then follow the button creation wizard which creates the button.

The buttons can also be customised in terns of colour, size and style to match a user’s online identity. Users can also set the time when they are free to accept phone calls and also have the choice of rejecting or blocking numbers.

To change a phone number or availability settings, a user must go back into their button profile.

Reader comments

More from Computeractive

News

The latest home computing news

Downloads

The best PC tools, applications and more

Reviews

Independent opinions on new hardware and software

Step-by-step guides

Easy-to-follow projects with pictures

PC Help

Solve PC problems with our Q&A

Videos

PC projects demonstrated and product reviews

Articles

An in-depth look at how to get the best from your PC

Magazine

What's coming up in Computeractive

Forums

Get help with your PC problems from our readers

Competitions

Your chance to win computing prizes

Shopping

Great deals on products, services and more

Computeractive CD Rom 10
All 26 issues of Computeractive from 2007 on one CD-Rom.

Ultimate Guide to PC Troubleshooting
Everything you need to know to solve your PC problems.

Create your own calendars softwareCreate your own Calendars
The fun and easy way to create your own calendars!

Computeractive - Issue 280Computeractive Back Issues
Missed an issue? Click here to find a back issue

Blogs

Windows Watch

Windows Watch

Keeping an eye on the latest XP and Vista news

Standards for standards

08 Jan 2009Maybe the recession has forced vendors to appreciate the value of a grown up attitude to standards. Panasonic's approach to an industry-wide...

Download Junkie

Download Junkie

Your daily dose of download discussion

Manage your projects more effectively using Task Coach

08 Jan 2009When undertaking a new project at home or at work, outlining the tasks required for completion is a good place to start,...

Advertisement

Free email newsletters

Techno babble demystified...

[Display all definitions]

Or type in any computer-related word and click "Go"

Advertisement

Computeractive is not reponsible for content of Google adverts

Primary Navigation

© Incisive Media Ltd. 2009. Incisive Media Limited, Haymarket House,
28-29 Haymarket, London SW1Y 4RX, is a company registered in the United Kingdom with company registration number 04038503

Search computeractive.co.uk