DETERMINING BUYING AND SELLING MOTIVATIONS OF COLLECTORS: A COLLECTOR TYPOLOGY

Abstract

Collecting, which is a niche area of consumer behavior, has been given little research attention by marketing scholars. Based on an extensive literature review and primary data collection through in-depth interviews, conducted in Turkey, the present study intends to understand collectors’ motivations and emotional outputs of the process. Additionally, it also aims at classifying collector typologies based on their starting point of collecting and revealing the differentiated motives and emotional outcomes of each typology. The findings indicate that all of the participants in all groups stated that they are addicted to collecting. Within groups, Family collectors differentiate with passion for research and childhood collectors with nostalgia whereas leaving a heritage to the future and self-expression are the main motives of adulthood collectors. On the output side, the pleasure/satisfaction derived from collecting has been the common point of all collector groups. Besides, the percentage of pleasure takers in the A.C. is slightly lower than in other groups. Other positive outputs of collectors are listed as socializing, differentiation, and self-confidence. This typology will bring in more clarity and further insights that will help scholars; expand the research domain and it helps sellers of collectibles.