3 Great Ways to Get More Repeat Ebay Customers

The tragedy of Ebay is that all of your items do not sell all of the time. No matter what you do with your description, title, or pictures. Sometimes there is just no one searching for your exact auction, or not clicking on your perfectly good title.

There are several ways to combat this. Three great ways to sell more items on Ebay is to get repeat customers, customer who respond to a mailing list, or first time bidders who buy multiple items. All of these people will help your business succeed, and there are some tricks to building a loyal customer base.

Getting Repeat Customers
Hopefully you have already Branded your Ebay business. Make a name for yourself that is distinguishable, and meaningful. The easiest way to get repeat customers is to sell consumable products. If you sell things like calling cards, printer ink, packaging tape, etc... it should be easy to get repeat business. All you would have to do is make a free business card at Vista Print with your business name and Ebay ID on it, and put it in with every package you ship. The next time your customer needs a roll of packaging tape, they will (hopefully) look for your card and buy from a seller they can trust.

One way you can further increase the likelihood of a repeat customer through use of business card is to offer a discount (maybe 10%?) on their next purchase or an automatically reduced shipping charge. Reward your customers and they will come back again and again.

Starting a Mailing List
With a Mailing list you will be able to reach out to as many potential bidders as you are able to get to sign up. They can be old customers, or just potential ones you have gotten to sign up. After they are on a mailing list, you can email them weekly telling them about the new inventory you posted, or sales that are happening, etc... This is a great way to remind your past and potential customers that you have something which they need to buy. "Is your ink toner running low?" Amazon.com does the same thing, reminding previous customers to buy books similar to ones they have purchased in the past. It is a good idea to copy the pros on this one.

A good way I have noticed to get people on a mailing list is to offer a discount (5-10%) on their first purchase if they join. Not only will this help your mailing list grow, but it will help create a bidding frenzy when more than one person bids on your auction.

Getting Bidders to Buy Multiple Items.
Another great way to increase sales is to tell your bidders , and create an easily accessible link, to check out your other auctions because you are offering discounted shipping rates (or expedited shipping) if the bidder buys more than one of your great items. Remember that you can pack up to 75 pounds of anything into a USPS flat rate box for $8.10.

When thinking about offering discounts on your items it is important that you still make a profit for each item you sell, keep this into consideration. However, a preliminary discount that leads to a repeat customer is more than worth the time and money.

Good luck out there, and give me comments for any of your questions.
Offer discounted shipping with multiple items purchased
Put in a business card with each item you send.
Sign up for our mailing list, and receive x% off your first order

Branding your Ebay Business

When you start selling on Ebay it is best to set lofty goals for yourself and for what you plan on selling. If this is part of your business, or you are a part time seller with high aspirations it should be reflected in your username.

I will use myself as an example, when I first started selling on Ebay as a hobby; I just shortened my email address and made my seller name “carl.8630.” This did not really say anything about me, or what I was trying to sell. I decided that I wanted to focus more on selling clothing and then chose the more appropriate name of “pdx-apparel”

What I am trying to hammer home here is that you should not be using a nickname for your user name. Instead you should attempt to create a brand that will reflect the products you are selling. This is especially true if you occupy a niche market and sell only one type of thing, like shoes or DVDs.

Lastly, creating a brand will give you more recognition and inspire repeat business. It does not inspire confidence in your customers when you are selling books on Ebay but your user name is thepopesmokesdope420. Act accordingly and watch your business slowly grow!