What Drives People To Become Collectors?

We all know someone that feels the urge to collect things. Why do humans feel compelled to collect?

Read More:
Why You Can't Stop
“Do you look for flaws as if your life depended on it?”

Why do we collect things? Love, anxiety or desire
“About a third of people in the UK collect something. Their reasons and manner vary hugely.”

Brain hubs boil when hoarders face pitching their own stuff
“In patients with hoarding disorder, parts of a decision-making brain circuit under-activated when dealing with others' possessions, but over-activated when deciding whether to keep or discard their own things, a new study has found.”

PET Study Finds Neurobiology Of Hoarders Differs From Other Obsessive-compulsive Disorder Patients
“A PET imaging study conducted at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute indicates the neurobiology of America's estimated 1 million compulsive hoarders differs significantly from people with other obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms.”
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[MrDumptyTheDeadman]

I collect Steam games because they were on sale, I'll play them someday, I swear.

[yojgee]

I'm collecting fat around my belly. It's cool, you should try it!

[garry]

Yep, fell into the collecting trap many times. Now i've been in the process of becoming a minimalist. Selling stuff takes WAY more time than buying. It's a pain but my goal is to get rid of just about everything I don't use. But, I'll never get rid of my old concert tickets.

[TheNerdWizard]

And this is why pokemon is so damn popular.

[cryofpaine]

I collect lots of stuff for different reasons. My dvd/book/comic collection has mostly grown around the thought "This looks interesting, I might want to read/watch it some day, and it's better to get it now when it's cheap." My toy and poster collection is mostly about wanting a physical connection to a favorite character or story. And in some cases, both with generic items and with some previously mentioned one (mostly the toys & posters) there are specific memories associated with them.

[echaltraw]

I collect horror movies! They're my favorite genre, and growing up my dad and I watched lots of horror movies together. Our bonding time was sitting with a big bowl of popcorn, some red vines, and the scariest we could find at Blockbuster. My collection hit 112, and I'm always adding more. 😊

[Dartheious]

Transformers and Star Wars action figures, and video games... that kid inside won't grow-up like the rest of my self... keeps me young and happy...

[PinkyBear]

I love collecting dolls, stuffed animals, stationery etc. because of the nostalgia and my love for cute things.

[goatmonkey]

1. Start a character in any RPG. 
2. Collect all of the virtual items you can stand. 
3. Enjoy your collection without having a giant pile of crap in your house.

[rickseiden]

I'm a casual collector of decks of playing cards.  I like the feeling of a new find.  Like Julia said, the thrill of the hunt.  Plus, if you collect something, people always know what to get you for your birthday and Christmas.

[KidGreeD]

Yugioh cards
Video games
Movie tickets
Computer parts
VHS/Dvd/ Blu-ray
I pretty sure I have a problem.

[coffeepot]

The only thing i have that could be called a collection is a small plastic box that contains childhood memories. Like, an old ninja turtle figure, my book of pokemon cards. A picture of a lion's mane rabbit i used to own. All things linked to a memory.

[Brownshoe]

What no Comic Book Collectors here ?
Okay I'm one !

[hmjs]

I sometimes collect movie tickets if the movie was great or if i had fun that day. The other day i was arranging my drawers and found a ticket from 2005 (the skeleton key movie)
;)

[qqq]

I collect air. My house and 2 sheds are packed full of it. It's even everywhere in my yard. I feel ashamed :(

[PJhunny]

I have a very addictive personality and it causes me to have a ton of mini collections. I have every movie ticket I have ever gotten since 2007, and belive me I am a cinephile so that is a ton of tickets. I have 26 and counting novelty coffee mugs. I use to collect beanie babies before my mom sold them all. I also collect scarves and colorful ankle socks. I live in a hot climate. I wear like 2 scarves a year and I have enough socks to wear every day of the year without washing but I mostly wear flats and don't need socks. I might have a problem in my frontal lobe because just typing all this out made me happy because I love my collections. also have 5, 300 is songs on my I pod and 2, 700 is fandom pictures saved on my computer. Whoops!

[LiLi-krze]

I love collecting unusal pens, and i have been doing it for 3years, I just satisfied collecting them as i have over 100 collection of them :)

[tomaud]

When I used to travel a lot I always kept the change (banknotes) and placed them in albums, but now that I can't travel I started purchasing worldwide banknotes from a dealer and that way I can get better quality, scarcer banknotes. It's fun.

[stephenhorton]

As a kid I collected stones, usually quarts as there was quite a lot of it in the lake district (where I used to go on holiday) but often just nicely coloured and shaped stones. I find it hard to throw away train tickets, but I wouldn't say I collect them, more just keep them. I also collect coins, but only really GBP that is in circulation - one of each design.

[eepmeep]

I collect and enjoy making things as well. To me, it's like objects are alive and have feelings and this idea fits in with my Shinto beliefs. I take care of them and mourn if they get broken. The things around me bring me happiness and I appreciate the effort that goes into making each one of them.