Incamail announced it has added eBay functionality into its free email service. Incamail customers will have an exclusive eBay inbox and will have access to their "My eBay" tool.
Incamail is a Web-hosted email service (think Hotmail). Unlike other services, Incamail gives users the ability to integrate multiple disposable email addresses (DEAs) into one account in order to evade unsolicited email and offers "vertical email portals" as part of an integrated ecommerce component.
Incamail's eBay function sorts a user’s eBay email and integrates real-time bid, watch, won, lost and selling list updates into an exclusive eBay inbox. Members can also access Paypal, eBay buyer and seller protection programs, feedback functions and search options from their eBay inbox. Incamail.com is the first and only email service to integrate eBay site functionality into the email inbox.
View a screenshot of an Incamail email account open to My eBay: http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/images/ebay_myebay.jpg
eBay buyers may like the Incamail system since they can dispose of their emails if they find themselves getting spammed by trading partners, without having to set up a new Incamail account. And the convenience of any hosted email service is its portability. You can log into your Incamail account from any computer that has an Internet connection.
However, eBay sellers should not yet forsake their email clients in favor of Incamail. Incamail does not currently integrate with desktop email clients, so users cannot archive Incamail emails on their desktop computers. Incamail has plans to integrate with Outlook in the future. And while users can theoretically keep email records as long as they want, an account that isn't logged into for 60 days is considered abandoned and is closed.
Incamail is a free service and gets revenue through affiliate relationships with ecommerce partners, like 800-Flowers and eBay. Jonathan Stern, Incamail's Chief Operating Officer, said the company decided to provide eBay functionality based on customer behavior: a large percentage of Incamail customers created email accounts specifically for eBay use.
Incamail is certified to use eBay's API program. They plan to incorporate additional eBay buyer and seller services, product listing tools and a certified email delivery service, guaranteeing communications will not get blocked by spam filters. Incamail also has plans to launch several "Vertical Email Portals" focused on common online activities, including sharing and printing of digital photographs, organization of news alerts and seamless integration of email with blogging.
eBay is increasingly promoting itself to developers, encouraging them to integrate eBay into existing services and to develop new services for eBay users. MSN recently integrated "My eBay" functionality into the "My MSN" customizable home page on MSN, the first time that the My eBay feature was extended into a portal environment.
