For almost 10 years I’ve lived the schizoid life of a machinery dealer and writer/publisher. Both jobs stoke my intellectual furnace with firewood. I feel like I’m usually on top of my game in my writing because the more I do the sharper the prose gets. As a deal maker, I sometimes feel like I’m half a lap behind.
The skills of deal making resemble those of writing a journalistic piece. Both require research—acquiring the facts from disparate sources. On the machinery side I am constantly looking for sources to provide me with solid comparisons of values. Is a four-year-old Mazak 30” x 16” vertical machining center worth $25,000 or $45,000? The difference in value may hinge on a change of controls, a choice of options or the hours on the spindle. Another variable affecting the price is the quality of Mazak service, availability of spares or whether the dealers are discounting at the moment.
