There's an old saying that is true for any business: It costs ten times more to acquire a new customer than it does to sell to an existing customer.

What this means in plain English is, it's easier and cheaper to sell to someone who already knows and trusts you. This is true for your eBay business just as much as for Sony or McDonald's or any other huge corporation.

There are many ways to re-sell to buyers who've already bought from you on eBay. Here are just a few methods that I use:

* I created a small graphic asking prospective buyers to add me to their "Favorite Sellers" list. I add that graphic to all of my listings in the description.

* I use all of eBay's cross promotion tools. They make it so easy, I'd be crazy not to. In your My eBay section, click on the link at the left that states "Marketing Tools." Then click on "Cross Promotions."

* Also on the Marketing Tools page, there is a link to "Favorite Seller Top Picks." I set that preference to "Automatic Selection." This allows eBay to add some of my items to their weekly emails. Everyone who has added me as a Favorite Seller will see some of the items I'm selling that week. Setting it to automatic relieves me from having to remember to go in and pick certain items every week, although you can do that by setting the preference to "Manual Selection."

* Another choice on the Marketing Tools page is "Promote Similar Items." This allows eBay to promote my items with other eBay seller's items in emails and on closed item pages for unsuccessful bidders.

* I customized my "End Of Auction" emails. eBay sends out an automatic email to every winning bidder. Did you know you can customize that email? And you can ask your buyer to add you to his favorites or direct him to other items you have for sale. To do this click on the "Customize End Of Auction Emails" on the Marketing Tools page.

As you can see, eBay offers lots of Marketing Tools that you can use quickly and easily to increase your sales. And, if you have an eBay store, they offer even more. For instance, I send out a flyer with each item I've sold, complete with my logo and store URL and, you guessed it, an invitation to the buyer to add me to his favorite sellers. eBay offers store owners a tool to create that flyer with a few simple mouse clicks.

Carve out some time to spend in eBay's Marketing Tools area. It's well worth it.

Kim Skinner
Editor, eBay Answers
eBay Seller's Resource