Privacy
Statement
Information Collection and Use
TheSpiceStore.com is the sole owner of the information collected on this site. We
will not sell, share, or rent this information to others in ways different from what is
disclosed in this statement. TheSpiceStore.com collects information from our users
at several different points on our website.
Order
We request information from the user on our order form. Here a user must provide
contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like
credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes
and to fill customer’s orders. If we have trouble processing an order, this
contact information is used to get in touch with the user.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s hard drive containing information
about the user. Usage of a cookie is in no way linked to any personally identifiable
information while on our site. Once the user closes their browser, the cookie simply
terminates. For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have
to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site. If a
user rejects the cookie, they may still use our site. The only drawback to this is
that the user will be limited in some areas of our site. For example, the user will
not be able to participate in any of our Sweepstakes, Contests or monthly Drawings that
take place. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to
enhance the experience on our site.
Some of our business partners use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers).
However, we have no access to or control over these cookies.
Log Files
We use IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track user’s movement,
and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not
linked to personally identifiable information.
Sharing
We will share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers. This
is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual person.
We use an outside shipping company to ship orders, and a credit card processing company to
bill users for goods and services. These companies do not retain, share, store or use
personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes.
We partner with another party to provide specific services. When the user signs up for
these services, we will share names, or other contact information that is necessary for
the third party to provide these services.
These parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the
purpose of providing these services.
Links
This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we [TheSpiceStore.com]
are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our
users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and
every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy
statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.
Newsletter
If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact information such as
name and email address.
Surveys & Contests
From time-to-time our site requests information from users via surveys or contests.
Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and the user therefore
has a choice whether or not to disclose this information. Information requested may
include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic
information (such as zip code, age level). Contact information will be used to
notify the winners and award prizes. Survey information will be used for purposes of
monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of this site.
Tell-A-Friend
If a user elects to use our referral service for informing a friend about our site, we ask
them for the friend’s name and email address. [TheSpiceStore.com] will
automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site.
[TheSpiceStore.com] stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time
email.
Security
This website takes every precaution to protect our users’ information. When
users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both
online and off-line.
When our registration/order form asks users to enter sensitive information (such as credit
card number and/or social security number), that information is encrypted and is protected
with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL. While on a secure page,
such as our order form, the lock icon on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape
Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked, or
open, when you are just ‘surfing’.
While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we also do everything
in our power to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’
information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our
offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for
example, our billing clerk or a customer service representative) are granted access to
personally identifiable information. Our employees must use password-protected
screen-savers when they leave their desk. When they return, they must re-enter their
password to re-gain access to your information. Furthermore, ALL employees are kept
up-to-date on our security and privacy practices. Every quarter, as well as any time
new policies are added, our employees are notified and/or reminded about the importance we
place on privacy, and what they can do to ensure our customers’ information is
protected. Finally, the servers that we store personally identifiable information on
are kept in a secure environment, behind a locked cage.
If you have any questions about the security at our website, you can send an email to security@thesoicestore.com
Supplementation of Information
In order for this website to properly fulfill its obligation to our customers, it is
necessary for us to supplement the information we receive with information from 3rd party
sources.
For example, to determine if our customers qualify for one of our credit cards, we use
their name and social security number to request a credit report. Once we determine
a user’s credit-worthiness, this document is destroyed.
(or)
In order for this website to enhance its ability to tailor the site to an
individual’s preference, we combine information about the purchasing habits of users
with similar information from our partners, Company Y & Company Z, to create a
personalized user profile. When a user makes a purchase from either of these two
companies, the companies collect and share that purchase information with us so we can
tailor the site to our users’ preferences.
Special Offers
We send all new members a welcoming email to verify password and username. Established
members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals, and a
newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option to not
receive these types of communications. Please see our choice and opt-out below.
Site and Service Updates
We also send the user site and service announcement updates. Members are not able to
un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important information about the
service. We communicate with the user to provide requested services and in regards to
issues relating to their account via email or phone.
Correction/Updating Personal Information:
If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as your zip code), or
if a user no longer desires our service, we will endeavor to provide a way to correct,
update or remove that user’s personal data provided to us. This can usually be
done at the member information page or by emailing our Customer Support.
Choice/Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information
used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for the
information. For example, our order form has an ‘opt-out’ mechanism so
users who buy a product from us, but don’t want any marketing material, can keep
their email address off of our lists.
Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials from our
partners may opt-out of receiving these communications by replying to unsubscribe in the
subject line in the email or email us at support@thespicestore.com
.
Users of our site are always notified when their information is being collected by any
outside parties. We do this so our users can make an informed choice as to whether
they should proceed with services that require an outside party, or not.
Notification of Changes
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on our Homepage so
our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under
circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally
identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was
collected, we will notify users by way of an email. Users will have a choice as to
whether or not we use their information in this different manner. We will use information
in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
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