Its just a manifestation of obsessive compulsive disorder.
Odd collecting habits/hoarding of particular items are a really common manifestation.
Theres also the manifestation where people think they see stuff where no one else does. When I used to play poker semi professionally, I noticed some players would follow patterns. Similiar to why they post the recent numbers spun on a roulette table. Just because 8 came up three times in the past 15 spins does not have any influence whatsoever on the next spin(unless theres a physical bias on the wheel which is very unlikely but possible). In a like manner, some poker players will pay attention to the cards that flop/turn/river where no one else does. They do this because they believe they might see a pattern...like a Queen comes out 7 or 8 flops in a row and they believe that theres some sort of bias. The same thing happens in card collecting...certain people with certain manifestations of OCD(which nearly every collector has to some extent) will believe they see patterns where others don't and the behavior is self justified by believing its an investment. This is a big part of the wierd pricing strategies...these guys CAN'T sell the stuff for less than a profit because it would basically explode their minds. It would call into question their ability to see these patterns and justify their investments.
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