[DonVoigt]

Alvin,
You would be better off to start your analysis with what a "bowie" knife is vs. what a Bowie knife is.

Looking at prices on ebay is a very strange place to start an analysis.

Folks that collect knives or specifically vintage "Bowie" type knives and pay big bucks know what they are doing; folks that want a utility knife or one to use may want a knife of the "bowie" pattern, because they can't afford a real Bowie knife or even a cheap, but handmade knife for $60.

Do you know where the term "bowie" knife originated?

Maybe a little historic research is in order.

I collected "bowie" type knives in the past, like I said there are books written on them, when I sold most of mine off, I sold my "best" book too- just the book sold for over $400 on Amazon.

I'm not saying that many of your observations are not valid, they can be said of collecting anything- from figurines to Carnival glass.

But if you want to talk about knife collecting, you really should do a little more reading first. JMHO.