We met with the ISPCA and DSPCA yesterday to see how we can work together better to make life more difficult for dodgy breeders.

We came up with a number of great ideas to do over the next few weeks:

Actions

1. DoneDeal will investigate how we can track the physical address of sellers in the animal section. This will help the ISPCA/DSPCA investigate any suspect ads.
2. We will set up a process to help the ISPCA/DSPCA easily get information from deleted ads. This helps them investigate reported ads, as we have often removed ads before the inspectors get to see the ad and photos.
3. We will investigate how we can educate horse buyers about the legal requirements for microchip and license. This will help the ISPCA/DSPCA track animals, and find the last owner.
4. DoneDeal will help DSPCA advertise their animals for rehoming in the Rescue Section. This should help the DSPCA find good new homes for their rescues quicker.
5. We will arrange a follow-up meeting in 3-4 months.

Whether you’re looking for a bit of relaxation or an action-packed break, at home or abroad, DoneDeal may have just what you’re looking for

DoneDeal isn’t just about finding practical day-to-day items or necessities. You can also use it to plan your next holiday. Browse different types of accommodation, from self-catering to luxury hotels, and start putting together your next break.

In our Holiday & Tickets section, you can find plenty of accommodation under the Hotels & B&Bs, Ireland Holiday Rent and Overseas Holiday Rent sections. You can even find flights, ferries and package holidays that other people can’t make and have for sale under Travel Tickets.

If you want a holiday with a difference, you could even buy a caravan or campervan in our motors section or maybe find a bike rack to put on your vehicle for an active holiday.

Staycations

In Ireland Holiday Rent you can browse by most recent ads or by province or county to find a self-catering option, such as a country cottage, golf villa or holiday home in Ireland to relax in.
Hotels & B&Bs, on the other hand, will return a list of places where you can have your breakfast served up and your bed made for you every day. Alternatively, you can surprise yourself by browsing all ads or dig a little deeper and see what’s available in every county in Ireland.

Venturing abroad

It’s easy to find self-catering accommodation abroad by clicking into Overseas Holiday Rent. To browse by country or area, just put some keywords in the search bar and hit Search. Who knows where it will bring you – all you need to do then is book those flights.

Name changes

Flights are readily available under ‘Travel Tickets’. Be warned, however; most, if not all, require a name change, which usually incurs a cost. If you’re buying someone else’s fare, make sure you find out for yourself from the travel company or carrier about the terms and cost for changing the name on the ticket. As we recommend that DoneDealers only pay by cash or bank draft, it’s important that both the buyer and seller figure out a fair way to pay without either side getting hurt.

Nowadays most travel companies send out emails with full details of the arrangements made, so it’s important to get copies of all original correspondence and booking details.

If you’re looking at someone else’s bargain holiday, it’s no harm to do your own research – find out how much the holiday would cost and make sure it’s good value for you. You want to go on your own holiday and not just follow someone else’s abandoned dreams. You should consider the proximity of the accommodation to everybody else, the times of the flights and whether it’s an independent holiday or though a holiday company.

Make the most of it

Holidays can be that little bit extra fun when there’s something to see and do or something extra to add to the atmosphere. Why not look up sports tickets and add a top sporting event to your itinerary?
Don’t forget that a holiday doesn’t have to be far away, full of luxury or for more than one night. By looking up music tickets you may find a gig the next county, a festival camping ticket or a must-see concert in the city. It’s a break, right?

Last Saturday we (Melrona & Fred) met with three great people who do fantastic work for animal welfare in Ireland. We met with Christine Plunkett from Tipp-Off Animal Rescue, Miriam Anderson from Anvil Ireland, and Gill Brady from Celtic Animal Life Line.

This meeting was organised after meeting at the National Animal Welfare Forum on 22nd May.

Here is a list of the actions that were decided at the meeting:

Actions

1. DoneDeal will find a way to educate people who advertise dogs “free to good home”, to tell them about the risks involved when giving dogs away for free. Most of these people are not aware that they may be taken advantage of, and that the “buyer” might resell the dog, or worse.
2. DoneDeal will look at ways to better educate buyers how to stay away from dodgy sellers, maybe a pop-up when someone is getting the contact details from an ad?
3. The rescue section in DoneDeal should be promoted much more. At the moment there are only 17 dogs in the rescue section, but as soon as we get 50 rescue dogs DoneDeal will promote the rescue section as the first port of call for any person looking for a dog. We believe every person looking for a dog should start in the rescue section. This helps rescue centres find good homes for their dogs much quicker, and it helps educate people about the over-population of dogs in Ireland.
4. DoneDeal will contact Revenue to find out how to report large scale breeders for tax evasion.
5. DoneDeal will feature a rescue centre on the site each month. Elaine will write an article about the people involved and the great work they do, to help educate the public about rescue centres, and to raise the profile about rescue centres.
6. DoneDeal is looking at various ways to track sellers better, so that we have a physical address to use if the premises needs to be investigated.
7. DoneDeal is currently testing a technology that can block specific computers from placing ads on DoneDeal. This makes it much easier to identify large scale breeders, and block them from using DoneDeal.
8. DoneDeal will continue to run banner campaigns to promote responsible dog ownership. We have run a number of campaigns to educate about neutering and responsible dog ownership. It was decided that we will continue with this on a larger scale, to run a number of campaigns in parallell, showing videos and linking to educational sites.
9. DoneDeal will no longer accept ads that promote bitches in heat or in pup. DoneDeal will go through existing ads and remove them from the site. [Update 8th July: to avoid confusion, we do not accept ads for bitches that are being sold in heat or pup, but we accept ads for bitches in heat looking for a stud. Basically, we don't like people using heat or pups as a mechanism to try to get more money for a dog, but we allow ads for breeding dogs]
10. We also talked about setting up a twice-yearly meeting with all Irish rescue centres, to get more feedback, and to track progress. DoneDeal will come back with possible dates and location.

That is a good start. We will keep you updated on the progress on these action-items here on the blog.

Please keep reporting any dodgy ads you see on DoneDeal. Our vetting process stops most dodgy ads, but some dodgy guys find ways to get through. So, please let us know when you spot something strange, we use that information to update our vetting procedures.

 

This month is DoneDeal’s 6th birthday so we’re going to celebrate in style!!

We have 500 birthday packs, filled with a super yummy birthday brownie, candle, party hat, party blower and balloon to give away so you can have your own DoneDeal party at home.

 

To be in with a chance to win one of these cool party packs, all you have to do is:

Send us an email to birthday@donedeal.ie with your birthday message along with your Name and Full Postal Address and we’ll put your name is our lovely (and big) party hat.

Closing date is Wednesday June 15^th at 5.00pm

Be sure to email in your birthday wishes with your Full Name and Address to birthday@donedeal.ie as only the emails received will be entered into our draw.

Thanks to all you T-Shirt spotting DoneDealers!

We’ve had a great response to this competition and are really looking forward to having it as a monthly tradition.

Who knows, we could end up with photos of DoneDeal T-Shirts in every corner of Ireland!

So now to the bit you want to hear……this months winner!

Congratulations to Mary Donohue from Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 for her winning photo!

Your €50 One4All voucher is on the way to you!

Now to start looking for our July winner!  Get snapping DoneDealers and send your photos of DoneDeal T-Shirt wearers into tshirts@donedeal.ie and a €50 One4All voucher could be on the way to you!