Why the need for collecting?

The Charlotte Observer reports, "At its foundation, the pursuit of collecting, whether it's valuable stamps or salt shakers from the Poconos, antique inkwells or Beanie Babies, is about affection. It can be affection for the object itself or affection for what it represents."

It quotes Russell Belk, a professor of business at the University of Utah and longtime student of consumer culture, marketing and the psychology that underlies the impulse to collect as saying, "Building a collection satisfies important human goals. There is a sense of success and mastery, opportunities for socializing with others who have a common interest and a chance to learn."

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