Thanks BetweenRides I have been lurking for a while and learning loads this place is awesome! 
buy, test, keep.
I added a 4th choice 
I've always had an obsession with collecting whatever interests me then everything just sits and collects dust. I should probably start selling my knives and flashlights since I don't even use them. I never even take most of them out of their boxes.
Then there's my battery obsession. 
i guess i'm in the second category. right now i have three lights that i use almost everyday and which are kind of indispensable, three more that i use periodically but could probably live without, and a few incans that sit mostly unused but have sentimental value.
i'll often buy stuff on sale just to try it out, but if it doesn't make my rotation after a couple months, i sell it, give it away, or try to mod it.
I found BLF by coincidence when shopping for a better bike light after making a few purchases on DX already. Turned out i like flashlights better than riding a bike itself. :P
Haha…I should have made this thread about how did you get into lights. That’s probably the more interesting question.
I did it through researching dive lights as I wasn’t satisfied with what was available. Then I learned of DX and CPF. It was only way later that I thought of lights other than as dive lights.
When I started ordering from DX with the long shipping times I started ordering a few cheap lights in various categories I had heard about…CR123, lights with “modes!”, flashing modes, aspheric, etc.
I rarely used flashlights before that. Now I have no great need but I’ve come to understand how they can make certain activities more convenient when there are a few lights around.
My interests tend to be headlamps, dive lights, and aspherics and for everyday convenience just the smaller single AAA type of lights.
I like to see/learn how they work and what the “physics” is behind how they work.
I voted "I buy primarily for need... but have a few more than that," which is mostly true. I try to only buy what I need, but my needs change! Plus, I never sell the flashlights that I don't need any more, so I'm starting to build a collection. Sweet poll by the way!
(that's what she said)
However I do have a few more than I need. One UF-504b host + xml dropin for backup from the DD christmas sale.
16 pce MXDL 1 watt AAA lights ( I thought I bid on 1 pce and it was a lot of 16. Good price though :-) )
A few headlights - because they are so useful but I havent found a really nice one. Yet. And my priorities change. So its kind of hard.
And an old X2000 light that something is always wrong with. I fix one thing and then a new thing goes bad. :-(
Ohh well.
BTW: Great poll!
I would not call myself a collector, but I must admit I have way more than I really need..
I am also the official flashlight supplier to family and close friends...
I should have stayed content with my Maglites....
I seem to be selling most of my stuff that gets less used, so not a pure collector and my herd is growing only in lumens, features or quality, not so much in numbers...
"want" is a kind of "need", right? ;)
(but I marked the second option, I buy mostly for need)
i have a lot of lights but i am not a collector
i need a light at work ( i work night-shift ) and i am always looking for a better light
my lights get used and abused i have no shelf queens even my more expensive lights fenix and zebralight are all tossed in a box with all the others
I think a lot of people don't like the term collector .My opinion is if you are a collector then you know it and are proud of your "collection ".That seems to wear off pretty quickly and very few people probably ever felt that way in the first place .
To me it just seems like a bad description of what people here are doing .I 'd say i'm interested in lights .How many or how much isn't that important at all to me .
I Think I'm in (2), but I selected (3)...
Well I buy torches on the premise of use, I feel that what I'm buying will serve a purpose for use, eg. a better thrower (predator), or a better UI (V10R), or a better waterproofing (simple designs), or more compact for compact edc (DQG), or look good (D10 Ti)
But what I have already covers all of my needs many times over, but I'm still buying ones that hope to fulfil more categories. So I'm buying on the (false?) premise of improved performance? is that still called collecting?
hahahaha!
Maybe #3 should be “I use flashlights but I’m primarily either a collector or an accumulator”
I only buy to mod and resell. I don't keep them. I have one cheap spotlight (from years back) and one small light for work. I never use either of them.
The only enjoyment I get is modding, not the light itself. Actually I think most of them are ugly. Only the totally smooth/straight sided ones like a solitare look nice to me.
The only thing I ever collected was old Coca~Cola stuff. About $50,000 worth of it. It all went in the divorce many years ago, to my ex. (I gave it all to her).
I have never collected a thing since and never will.
Sorry, just passing thorugh...
Although I have accumulated more flashlights than I really need or use, I have been mostly buying them with specific tasks in mind (perhaps not all of them very important or frequent 
) or to hopefully fulfill a need better than any of my previous lights could. Sometimes out of curiosity as well.
In accordance with the above, my buying frequency has been declining lately, since it's becoming increasingly hard to find an acceptable excuse for a new light.
At a time .
One thrower , one close up flooder , one headlamp ,one EDC for casual and one for dress occasions , and some all-arounds for each vehicle , my boat , and every room in my house .
The trouble is , they keep coming up with new technology that makes the new stuff better for it's intended use .
When I go night fishing , I have to have a thower with out much spill to search for channel markers without losing my night vision due to a lot of bounce back off of the white fiberglass of my boat . I need a dim hands free light to bait hooks and to put my catch in my fishbox . I also need a fairly bright but diffuse light to load and unload cargo as well as checking equipment and such .
While there are a lot of lights which can almost do it all , none are perfect for every specific task .
So while I did not start out to be a collector , it seems that I have assembled quite a collection .
Jacktheclipper I would consider that #2 as you have a use for most of your lights. You do have my curiosity up regarding the light for casual and for dress occasions.
How is a light for dress occasions different than a light for casual occasions?