Whether you’re looking for a new luxury vehicle, an antique walnut dresser, or doors and window frames for your new home, chances are you can find it at ABC Auctions. Not only can you find everything from the ordinary to the unique you can buy it at the price that suits you. ABC Auctions is conveniently located along the Seke Road in Graniteside, Harare and in addition, in May this year, they have opened a brand new branch in Bulawayo at 77 Plumtree Road in Donnington. Their regular weekly sales include household and office goods on Mondays, a yard sale of building equipment and supplies on Tuesdays, and vehicle sales on Fridays. Lately they’ve been conducting Saturday sales for a variety of embassies disposing of furniture and other items as they update their various offices and residences.
These are all high quality goods many of which are not often available locally. For the past few weeks they’ve been holding sales on Thursdays to dispose of excess construction equipment and materials on behalf of the U.S. Embassy Building Contractors as the construction of the new embassy campus in Westgate nears completion. On offer were cranes, Alimak and Genie hoists and lifts and a host of other great machinery and supplies essential for serious building contractors. ABC Auctions has a unique one of a kind mobile office so they can hold sales on site for goods that cannot be moved easily. ABC Auctions were selected by the Embassy to host these prestigious sales because of their outstanding and well established reputation for integrity and reliability. Apart from the Embassy sales, the usual Tuesday Yard Sales offer a treasure trove of equipment and tools for the construction industry as well as for the mining, manufacturing and agricultural industries – equipment and machinery like compressors, generators, concrete mixers and even tractors and irrigation systems.
They are holding an entire wood laminating plant which will be coming up for disposal soon, so if you’re interested keep checking out their upcoming sales. At the moment they have a lot of scaffolding available but the beauty of the auctions is that there’s something new every week. You can find cut and dressed granite, door and window frames – whether new steel ones or old reclaimed wooden ones – timber lots, and even steel beams and rolls of wire. In fact, if you’re looking for something specific that’s not immediately on offer, have a word with them and you’ll find they can often hook you up with the right seller or they can let you know when what you’re wanting comes up for sale.
Their vehicle auctions include both luxury and economy cars, minivans, motorbikes and light pickup trucks. Generally they hold a heavy/versatile vehicle and equipment sale at least once a month. Items on offer include trucks of various sizes – for example 1 tonne, 3 tonne, 5 tonne and 10 tonne trucks, horses, trailers, rigids, tractors and farming and mining implements. Some vehicles are accident damaged or non-runners, some are almost brand new and in excellent condition, so there’s something to suit every taste and every budget! Sagittarian (Pvt) Ltd. t/a ABC Auctions began way back in the early 1960s when the original owner, Mr Louis Stynberg, set up an auction house in downtown Wynne Street.
In 1975 they moved to their current premises in Hatfield House along the Seke Road, and they’ve been there ever since. They have their offices there, as well as their sales floor and extensive warehouse space and yard space to store goods coming up for sale. ABC Auctions has brought the people of Zimbabwe a number of firsts. ABC Auctions was the first auction house to bring the innovative idea of the drive through vehicle auction to the people, the first to provide a purpose built auction house and the first auctioneering company to be fully computerised. ABC Auctions has served as the training ground for many auctioneers who have since left to open their own auctioneering companies. Their current auctioneer, Mr Joseph Ndawana (affectionately known as Wero) is recognised as the best in Zimbabwe, if not in the region. Kiaran Knight, Floors Sales Manager, emphasises that an auction is, “the most honest way of price setting”. Each and every sale is totally transparent ensuring the best prices for both buyers and sellers. Keep an eye out for outstanding future auctions or visit the sales floors to mosey around and see what’s coming up. They even have an out of hand section were goods can be purchased without going to auction. But be warned, you might just become addicted!
Text by Michael Nott
Photos by S&D
