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“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.

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.

Justices were hearing a dispute between the popular Web-based marketplace and a small Virginia patent holder over an idea for selling products on the Internet.

MercExchange, founded by patent lawyer Thomas Woolston, sued eBay and its subsidiary Half.com Inc. in 2001, alleging infringement of patents dating to 1995, shortly before eBay’s launch on the Web.

There’s a horde out there that prowls the streets on weekends, searching for signs that flutter on poles, classified ads and Internet postings, and arrows pointing to bargains.

Garage or yard sales may not seem worth the trouble to some, but they can be a very effective tool for getting rid of clutter and making a little money in the process – if you do it right.

Vintage advertising, especially tin signs, is being treated like rare folk art by some collectors.

Hundreds of each sign were printed or lithographed on a tin backing and sent to stores to be displayed. The images were sometimes just the brand name or logo, but signs made before the 1920s featured detailed pictures of famous people, sites or colorful pictures of a product.

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.