As an eBay seller, one of your highest priorities has to be keeping your customers coming back time and time again. If your business is to be successful, repeat buyers are a must. With that in mind, below are 10 ways to keep your bidders bidding:

- Be courteous to your customers. Remember, the customer is always right. Whether your buyer has a complaint, concern or just needs to express their feelings on a certain subject, listen to what they have to say. By being courteous through your communication, you can help to ensure that others see you as a professional who cares about customer satisfaction. If correspondence happens to become harassing, you can always report it to eBay.

- Answer e-mails promptly. From time to time, buyers have questions about an item. Whether it pertains to condition, size or quality, it may be necessary for you to answer questions both before and after the auction closes. In either instance, it’s important to answer e-mails and/or questions promptly to ensure that your customer remains happy and is impressed by your prompt attention.

- Follow through with your promises. If you state that shipping will occur in a certain amount of days following payment, make sure that you adhere to your promise. Customers will appreciate honesty and reliability, especially when they are awaiting a purchase. You can set yourself apart from many simply by sticking to your word.

- Surprise your buyers. A surprise is something that’s unexpected, and you can capture the heart of your customers by including a free gift, discount coupon for future purchases or even a personalized ‘thank you’ card with their purchase.

- Package your auction items carefully. Make sure that you send the item in a way that you, yourself, would want to receive it if you were the customer. Fragile and/or breakable items should be shipped in a box with bubble wrap, packing peanuts or other cushioning to prevent breakage. Flat items, such as trading cards, jewelry in boxes and other similar shipments can often be sent in a bubble or padded envelope mailer.