Stockholm-based Pet Media Group relaunches Puppyplaats.nl in The Netherlands

Stockholm-based Pet Media group announced on Monday that it has officially relaunched the website Puppyplaats in The Netherlands. The company claims that the new website for buying and selling pets is user-friendly, has new security features, and prioritises animal welfare.

Animal markets have lagged behind in innovation while many industries have increased in efficiency, usability, and safety over the past few years thanks to technology. As a result, many scammers and puppy traffickers take advantage of this situation to extort money from prospective customers or sell unhealthy pets. The increased sales prices since the start of the corona pandemic have only added fuel to this trend.

About Pet Media Group

Founded by AxelLagercrantz and Eyass Shakrah, Pet Media Group claims to increase trust, safety and convenience when selling or buying a pet through technology and service.

The startup bought Puppyplaats in May, 2021, and the optimised website is now formally launched. During the acquisitions and optimisations of comparable pet marketplaces in Scandinavia, the UK, Spain, The Czech Republic, and Italy, Pet Media Group claims to have developed a number of technological advancements, including numerous Europe-firsts.

European standard for the purchase and sale of puppies in the Netherlands

The new website’s buyers and sellers will have their identities verified using an ID verification system, similar to the methods used by international banks. Using AI technology, a user’s driver’s licence, ID, or passport photo is uploaded and compared to a photo that is taken immediately. Puppyplaats is the first Dutch animal marketplace in which this technology has been implemented.

As Puppyplaats prioritises promoting animal welfare, the website’s corresponding standards have been expanded to go even further than local laws. Officially, pups can be rehomed in the Netherlands after seven weeks, however, Puppyplaats extends this period by one week to help the development of the animals because solid food can be safely substituted for breast milk after eight weeks. Additionally, before the actual transaction occurs, online visitors will be given the chance to see the doctor with their new puppy.

Puppyplaats also gives the choice to advertise puppies up for adoption – if desired, boosted for more visibility – and establishes new guidelines and limitations for vendors to promote greater animal welfare. 

Large-scale breeders, for instance, are no longer permitted on the internet because doing so frequently led to the declining health of dogs. In addition, pups bought with the intention of reselling are no longer permitted to be sold, with the exception of Belgium. Also, from this point on, registered, ethical breeders can display these credentials on their profiles to gain the purchasers’ trust.

Buyers can now use Puppyplaats’ search filters to find a puppy in better ways. They can do a search for pups for sale or in particular Dutch cities, and they can choose to receive notifications when new adverts that fit their criteria are posted. The functions now include the ability to remember searches, use them as “wanted” advertisements, and save favourite ads. The company has also integrated a chat feature, allowing users to log in using their social network accounts and connect with one another securely.

Nadine Koop, site manager of Puppyplaats, says, “Animal welfare is our priority. We have a zero-tolerance policy for scammers and exploiters. And so, we have implemented strict security checks, which are even stricter than required by Dutch law. We are extremely proud to launch the most secure marketplace in the Netherlands for buyers, sellers, and above all: the puppies.”

The company says that the new security measures have shown to be successful in Pet Media Group’s other European pet marketplaces. Since the startup’s technology was implemented at Pets4Homes, the biggest pet marketplace in the UK, at least 40 per cent of advertising are being rejected since the vendors did not pass the screening. 

In order to guarantee that only authentic advertising is displayed on the site and that puppies and their potential owners are protected, Puppyplaats has doubled the size of its team and hired additional specialists.