I'm a fairly new Transformers collector. Bought my first figures shortly after RotF came out. But I have collected many other things over the years: Godzilla figures, MOTU, Dinosaurs, Rocky Balboa merchandise, Batman figures, and hats of my favorite sports teams just to name a few. Now that I think about it, I collect too much stuff.
Anyways, I've briefly thought about why I collect before, but quickly brushed the question off and went about my business. Now that I think about, I guess I really can't think of a true reason as to why. And that may be okay. But here are a few things that, I feel, may be the cause of my collecting habits...
-I never really grew up. Which is cool, because still being into the stuff when I was a kid is just a lot of fun.
-This coincides with the above a bit, but collecting helps me escape reality. It's a nice stress reliever from a bad day. Just come home and hop online looking for the figures I don't have.
-Also for the thrill of the hunt. It's really neat to hunt down something you really want and then when you actually have it-then you're off to hunt the next thing after two minutes.
-Probably to also fill some void/satisfaction that other things can't. What those voids may be, I have no idea.
Otherwise, I don't have a legit reason.