EarthLink to target eBay users' vanity

EarthLink is hoping to sign up more subscribers to its premium dial-up and high-speed Internet access services with the launch on Wednesday of a special eBay e-mail domain name.

EarthLink will be begin selling e-mail addresses with the domain name PlaneteBay.net to subscribers this week, executives at the Atlanta-based company told CNET News.com. As part of their agreement, EarthLink and eBay have also created a co-branded Web portal, featuring standard portal fare, such as news headlines and local movie schedules, along with personalized auction information from eBay's "My eBay" page.

"An e-mail address is an extension of who you are, especially on eBay," said Tracy Boyd, director of personal start pages at EarthLink. The so-called vanity address "offers extra cache, if you will," she said.

The deal builds on EarthLink's move last month to launch an eBay "widget," an online tool that lets a subscriber track eBay bids from his or her EarthLink start page, the company's customizable Web portal. By expanding ties to eBay, EarthLink hopes the loyalty of the eBay member community will start to rub off, Boyd said.

EarthLink, which has more than 5 million subscribers, has reported that its high-margin premium dial-up service business, which brings in the bulk of the company's revenue, is struggling to keep customers. The company said in January that many dial-up subscribers are switching to broadband, but don't always choose EarthLink's services in that arena. Nevertheless, the company plans to increase its subscriber base by as much as 550,000 this year by growing its broadband business.

EarthLink's premium dial-up service starts at $21.95 per month for up to eight e-mail accounts. Broadband rates vary by subscriber location. The eBay e-mail domain is not available with EarthLink's $10.99-per-month dial-up service, an EarthLink representative said.

To kick-start the eBay e-mail program, the companies plan to auction 100 unique PlaneteBay.net e-mail addresses, including [e-mail] and [e-mail], on eBay for charity. The companies plan to donate the proceeds of the auctions, which will run April 12-18, to Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, a nonprofit business-education association.

[jegrant]

E-Mail addresses don't matter anymore!

Not since eBay decided to ban them, claiming it as an anti-spam
measure, with the convenient side-effect of forcing all deals to
go through eBay so that they can collect a fee on every single
sale. Gone are the days (to some extent) of making it easy for a
seller's buyers to contact him/her easily. eBay thinks the buyers
are their customers, which is false. eBay's customers are the
sellers, and eventually they will figure this out.

So I don't see the point of a special "PlaneteBay" address if
nobody's going to see it anyway! Or will only those users who
become Earthlink/eBay ISP customers get the "privilege" of
displaying their email rather than just their username? I doubt it,
but as always, the plot thickens.

[Razzl]

Spoofing will kill this idea immediately

The previous writer is correct that eBay long ago made email domain names invisible to people reading the auction pages, erasing any point to using a vanity domain name. In addition I think the first wave of spoofed email bearing the new domain names will make people treat such email domains as a threat to be puzzled over rather than a sign of prestige. Earthlink should give the new idea a go but not be too disappointed when it fails...

[gettingmylogon]

I'd Get One...

...because I am retired, and spend a lot of time on eBay. I also am an eBay Trading Assistant.

Whenever I use the "@planeteBay.com" email address, it shows that I am a true-blue eBay seller. It's a great way to promote my business (in addition to signatures relating to eBay).
People may ask about the domain name, which gives me an opportunity to promote my trading assistant business.

It all depends on your interest in eBay.