Going, going, gone

Doug Marshall has held thousands of auctions in his nearly two decades in the business, but one planned in March in Somerset County promises to be unlike any other since Marshall Auctions opened for business in 1996.

The upcoming estate sale is Marshall's first online-only auction of a structure and its contents. Bidders shouldered beside competitors, sale items sprawled across the lawn and auctioneer chanting are going, going, gone.

At this auction, prospective buyers compete from home at their computers, a bidding trend catching on around the Eastern Shore that auctioneers say is more ...