“Collecting is like an addiction; it’s in your blood. People who are collectors will always buy no matter how they are doing financially. It’s just a matter of quantity.”

Given the industry’s recent growth, Shepard might be right.

Sales at Christie’s auction house totaled more than $3 billion last year, an increase of 25 percent from the year before. And eBay, which sells collectibles, antiques and other goods, reported that $44.3 billion worth of merchandise changed hands last year, a 30 percent increase compared with 2004.

An original copy of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, the amendment that abolished slavery in the United States in 1865, was sold at auction for $1.87 million.

Bob Raynor of Raynor’s Historical Collectibles Auction said the telephone and online auction attracted four bidders on Thursday.

eBay bidders have offered more than $30,000 for a World War II-era German Enigma cipher machine, a sum that’s “on the high side,” according to a dealer who has sold other models.

The online auction, which is scheduled to close Monday, is for a three-rotor Enigma machine manufactured in 1941, said the eBay listing. The unit, however, is missing a serial number, and the rotors — which typically are stamped with the same serial number as the Enigma itself — appear blank.

“Serial numbers has [sic] been removed,” the listing states.

A unique, autographed baseball jointly signed by New York Yankees Hall of Fame player, Joe DiMaggio, and his former wife, actress Marilyn Monroe, will be offered for sale by Heritage Auction Galleries in Dallas, Texas on May 6, 2006.

“The ball is from the estate of the late Associated Press photographer, Harry Harris,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Collectibles for Heritage. “By a pure stroke of luck, he obtained the signatures during the Yankees 1961 spring training in Florida when DiMaggio and Monroe were attempting to reconcile after their divorce.”

What started as a volunteer service, helping friends and family sell their old items on eBay, has become an upstart business for Incline resident Nicholaus Harris.

“I had a friend who had bought a new computer. She was just going to throw away her old computer because it had a non-functional hard-drive,” Harris said. “The old computer just needed someone who was willing to put the time into it, so I posted it on eBay in its exact condition and sold it for $315.”

eBay Express will contain Store and fixed-price listings from U.S.-based sellers on eBay.com that can be purchased right away. eBay Express will contain a shopping cart, and buyers will be required to use PayPal or a credit card to make a purchase. Only sellers with a 98 percent positive feedback score of at least 100 will be eligible to sell on eBay Express.

What in the heck did we do before eBay?

Before eBay there was Manion’s. Manion’s International Auction House (www.manions.com) has been around since 1970, and while not as well known, Manion’s Auction offers many benefits to sellers and bidders they will never get from eBay.

The first two sets of autographed Star Wars Planet Mats auctioned as a fundraiser for MediCinema helped raise a tremendous amount of money for the charity as generous Star Wars collectors bid on a rare opportunity to own unique Star Wars collectibles autographed by an unparalleled roster of Star Wars stars.

The last set of Star Wars Planet Mats — the fifth and sixth in a series of six — is now being auctioned online for charity. Currently up are Hoth and Kamino.

It was one of many examples of unique Eastern Shore history, property and even vacations being listed, bought and sold on the Web site, which insiders say has revolutionized the way local artifacts land in the hands of collectors.

The online listing is a niche market that experts say has created a demand for Shore artifacts and also has driven up their prices.

Although the Internet has revolutionized the auction industry in recent years, officials at Alderfer’s center and people who attend auctions there say there’s something special about a live event.

“Auctions were originally a social event and there’s still some of that here,” Wayne Mugrauer added. “You do miss that online.”