eBay launched a new browser extension tool tonight that lets you highlight different products in Firefox or Internet Explorer and compare the pricing of those products on eBay. The tool also includes Skype functionality, which will let you click on a number in your browser and call it directly via Skype.
Dubbed Browser Highlighter, eBay’s latest tool will run only on Windows machines for now, but will eventually be rolled out for Macs and Apple’s Safari browser in the coming weeks.
After installing Browser Highlighter, a small icon is placed to the right of the address bar in Firefox or Internet Explorer. When you click the icon, you have the option of turning the “Compare on eBay” function, as well as the “Skype Phone Number Recognition” tool on or off. When either one or both are turned on, the information you search for in the browser becomes an interactive space to compare the price of products on eBay or make phone calls with Skype.
Because it’s only in beta, eBay’s “Compare on eBay” tool won’t work on any site you visit. Instead, it will only work on Google Search, Google Shopping, Yahoo! Search, Yahoo! Shopping, Amazon Search Results, Amazon Product Pages and Nextag. If the company sees strong use of the tool on those sites, it will expand its compatibility to other services.
On search results pages, a small icon appears above the results, which can be clicked to reveal an eBay page displaying all of the auction and Buy It Now listings currently being offered on eBay. If you want to bid or buy the products, you can click the link and you’ll be brought to the listing.
On pages like Amazon where the icon is not displayed, you can highlight the product you’re searching for by dragging your mouse over the product’s name and the same “Compare on eBay” icon pops up. If you click it, you’ll be brought to the same eBay pop-up screen that will allow you to browse the listings on that site.
The feature works well and it doesn’t prove to be too annoying when you want to try it out. That said, it makes more sense to use the tool on pages like Amazon where you can’t compare pricing, since a Google search results page already offers comparative pricing, albeit without eBay included. And if you’re not an eBay user and you don’t like buying from eBay, you’ll probably find this tool a bit useless.
But the Skype Phone Number Recognition tool could be a different story altogether. Although I didn’t have the chance to try this feature out — it wasn’t included in the version I used — it looks to be far more useful than the “Compare on eBay” function.
According to the company, the Skype Phone Number Recognition tool can be used on any site and won’t be reserved for certain pages. Any page where there is a phone number being displayed will be recognized by the tool and if you click on it while Skype is on, it will make the phone call for you. Unfortunately, the Skype tool won’t recognize Skype usernames when it’s first released, but eBay promised that functionality down the road.
The new eBay extension is available for free and can be downloaded from browserhighlighter.com. It’s only available for Windows users running Internet Explorer or Firefox, but Mac users won’t be left out in the cold for too much longer — eBay promises Mac functionality soon.
lol i am an amazon man. i just for whatever reason cant buy stuff off of ebay. i also get the sense i am gonna get ripoff vibe. i have spent at least 4k on amazon.com. ebay items always seem overpriced to me.
I always buy from eBay after comparing prises with Amazon….u get it for cheap…
very good tool, will be helpful.
http://gatesand...s.blogspot.com/
VERY HELPFUL COMMENT, WOULD READ AGAIN! A++++++++
(and yes, this is directed to Tony Edward above me)
Very useful tool!
I thought the concept of eBay + Skype synergy was dead. Apparently not.
The phone number recognition algorithm has been included with the Skype web toolbars for a few years. It is under “more options’” in the standard installer, or via the outlook plug in.
Good tool. Finally the power of ebay and skype coming together..
Don has probably never heard of fireshot to make screenshots.
Or he doesn’t use windows (or just hates the nag screens, like me).
I think they are changing their mind about releasing this yet
, the download link is dead…
http://pages.br...lighter.com/%3C!–/*ENTER%20EXECUTABLE%20FILE%20LINK%20HERE*/–%3E
Oops, the download link doesn’t work for me, either.
Looks like we ShoppingNotes.com should go talk to eBay. We’ve got the technology that can extract the product image and price out of any product page from any shopping sites, not just a limited set of sites. This would make a lot of sense.
Pretty cool new tool.
wow nice integration for this tools.
Is it just me or are the shopping notes guys starting to annoy everyone?? plugging your product in the comments of blogs is lame, spend some time making it better and your users will market it for you…
Your comment to his comment is more annoying. Shut your hating. I hate hater more than the spammer.
Two points:
1. There’s a typo in your download link. It should be http://www.brow...ighlighter.com/
2. Skype has offered a browser extension for a while now that lets you click any phone number on a web page to initiate a Skype call. This isn’t a new thing, it just looks like eBay has added the same functionality to this tool.
And yet this won’t make the sellers content. Ebay needs to embrace some of their old policy in my opinion. Check out their seller forums sometime. Page after page of complaints.
I love this thing. One less click when shopping online. Woohoo!
There’s hope for StumbleUpon being owned by eBay. If they were about to sell it, I doubt they would integrate it into the plug-in (or annouce plans to anyway).
Also, I wonder why they couldn’t just make the Firefox version cross platform compatible to begin with. After all, almost all Firefox extensions work on every platform Firefox has been ported to (more than you’d think).
the pop-up that the Highlghter Browser people have sent out takes over most of my computer, intruding itself as a frozen block of immobility that i must navigate around. I can’t even download it to see if that will relax the grip.
incompetence is obviously revealing itself.
who would want something from the makers of this pop-up?
only victims trying to free themselves.
DITTO THE LAST COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wHAT IS THE MEANING SENDING THIS OUT TO DISRUPT OUR SYSTEMS! HOW DO I GET RID OF IT???
How can I stop this plug in from ever being installed? Everytime I install firefox, this plugin keeps getting reinstalled, resulting in firefox being broken and having to be uninstalled.
I’m sick of this!
I started investigating what was locking up my browser recently. I went to the add on section and disabled one at a time. If it wasn’t it, I enabled it again.
I then came to Browser Highlighter. When that was disabled, Firefox worked nice again.
I didn’t recall installing Browser Highlighter. Is this another internet trick? Reminds me of Microsoft was pulling a little while ago with it’s NET software.
I didn’t realize eBay owned this until I sent in a complaint. The confirming e-mail was from eBay. Nothing wrong with that really, but it is just another corporate invasion of my computer. If it isn’t the government, it is the corporations. What is the little guy to do?