It is the biggest challenge for collectors and dealers in collectibles and antiques...How to determine what the next BIG collecting craze will be?  Getting in early can be very important if you want to obtain maximum dollar for your items.  But if you are a buyer, jumping into the often short-lived crazes that come with some collectibles can turn a good investment into a poor one.

In this guide I have identified an item which is sure to remain the number one sought-after collectible that has ever existed.  Most people don't even realize it is a collectible....AND A VALUABLE ONE!  But absolutely EVERYONE has searched for this item.  And it is apparent that it is difficult to find.  What is the item? T-I-M-E!

That's right! TIME (Not The Magazine) has been and will continue to be the world's most sought after and hard to find item.  I'm sure we have all heard people declare (if I only had more time), OR (I can never find the time...). And of course people spend their entire fortunes trying to add more time to their lives.

So if you are a seller of time....you could become very wealthy - good luck.  But if you are one who seeks and searches for more time but find it is difficult to come up with just enough, then the tips below should help. It is odd though...most people start out with very large collections of TIME but then their inventory shrinks as the days pass by.  You can't add to your collection but with these simple tips you will be able to keep your collection of TIME more organized and better managed.  But every collection of TIME should be insured so talk to your insurance agent.

1. The remote control to the television set often sucks in more time than anything else.

In fact, one study shows that Americans spend about 35 percent of their lives watching TV.  Your collection of TIME can be severely depleted in front of the television. A solution...every household has a tool such as the one shown in the picture below.  By using this tool to FIX the television remote you will be able to discover that your collection of TIME is much larger than you thought.

2. Another loss of TIME, especially for men, is the household item shown in the picture below.

Many hours of a person's TIME collection have been literally flushed down drains like this one.  The remedy...remove all magazines, books, and newspapers from the bathroom.  If you find it difficult to accomplish your task without reading material in the bathroom then limit the magazines to no more than 50 pages and NEVER EVER place sports magazines or catalogs to a favorite tool store in the bathroom.

3. We are in the information age.  One particular item that is supposed to help us with our collections of TIME is the telephone, most particularly, the cell phone.  However, another study shows that a phone can severely impact one's TIME collection.  For example, teenage girls are known to lose many hours using this device. Although it can be good for the mandibular muscles, it can be expensive and detrimental to school grades.  Limiting the use of the telephone can help everyone better enjoy their TIME collection and might end up getting them a college scholarship.

4. Finally, the best tip for protecting your TIME collection is using eBay for your purchases.  An expert estimates that Americans spend 40 percent of their TIME collections driving to or shopping in stores.  But the search feature on eBay is easy to use and if an item exists, IT can almost always be found for sale right from the comfort of your home.

Well, my collection of TIME has been depleted by 45 minutes since I started this guide.  And if this doesn't win me a spot in the Write A Guide Contest then I think I'll go watch the John Wayne movie that I bought on eBay...after I check out the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated (I think I last saw it in the bathroom).