Community Swap Shop

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: April 16, 2009

Introduction

Community Swap Shop, Inc. takes your privacy very seriously. By visiting our site and using our services, you are accepting the practices and guidelines set out in this document (henceforth referred to as the “Policy”), so please take a few minutes to read it over carefully.

The Policy will address how Community Swap Shop (referring to Community Swap Shop, Inc. and all its services and products; also refers to “us,” “we,” and “Company” in this Policy) uses and stores the data gathered when you (the “User”) use its website.

The Policy does not apply to or bind third parties that Community Swap Shop does not control or to individuals that have special permission from Community Swap Shop to break it.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact our customer service department at support@communityswapshop.com .

We limit the collection and use of personal information

Collecting personal information allows Community Swap Shop to offer a more customized, secure, and efficient service to users. To that end, we only collect personal information that is relevant to the purposes of the Company.

We collect the following information from our users:

• Registration information (first and last name, username, password, email address, date of birth, gender, mailing address and phone number, in addition to credit card information, which is processed by a secure third-party credit card processing service)
• All other user-generated content entered in the normal course of using the Services, including but not limited to forum posts, profiles, comments, suggestions, forwarded messages, etc.
• Feedback information
• Passive information
• Traffic data

Your information in your Community Swap Shop account

Community Swap Shop may use the information listed above to: enforce our Terms of Service, customize and improve Community Swap Shop's software and website, provide customer service, resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems, inform users of targeted marketing, service updates and promotional offers unless you opt out and verify your identity. You can opt out of these messages by clicking “Unsubscribe Your Subscription” in your profile and/or by contacting us at support@communityswapshop.com .   Your data may be shared with other users if you choose to allow it and only if you choose to share it. Registration is required if you want to use many of the services of Community Swap Shop. As part of this registration, Community Swap Shop will require that you submit certain information, such as your e-mail address. Any and all information submitted to Community Swap Shop as feedback may be gathered and processed by Community Swap Shop to improve its software and website. Community Swap Shop may use anonymous information gathered through feedback for marketing purposes. Community Swap Shop will not use feedback information that identifies you specifically without your permission.

We gather and store certain types of information whenever you use Community Swap Shop services. Community Swap Shop records traffic data from your browser, including your IP address, cookie information, and the pages you are visiting within the site. Traffic data is helpful in identifying and fixing problems with the site.

Programs are available that can help you visit websites anonymously, but using such a program may make Community Swap Shop unable to provide a personalized experience for you when you use its services.

Passive information is automatically generated. Community Swap Shop will only use this information on an aggregated level for software and website improvement or for statistical information.

Community Swap Shop uses cookies to enable the site to recognize your browser and relay traffic data back to our servers. Community Swap Shop cookies do not collect personal information, and information from cookies is not combined with other personal information to identify specific users' browsing frequency or actions.

You are strongly encouraged to keep your cookie settings enabled, because they allow you to fully experience many of Community Swap Shop’s features.

Some of Community Swap Shop’s partners, especially site analyzers, use cookies on communityswapshop.com , but we do not use, access or control those cookies or their uses.

Community Swap Shop uses credit card processors to provide payment for enhanced listings and advertising. When you sign up for enhanced listings or advertising services, your name and payment and mailing information will be sent as necessary to these processors to provide the service. These processors are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose than processing your payment as directed by Community Swap Shop.

The information users provide to Community Swap Shop is integral to the functioning of the website. We will not rent or sell your personal information to anyone. We share such data only in certain circumstances, as listed below:

• Community Swap Shop employees, consultants and contracted workers may use or come into contact with user information during the course of their normal working duties for Community Swap Shop.
• Community Swap Shop will release personal user information if it is required under the law or the Terms of Service, or is otherwise necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Community Swap Shop, its employees, users or others. We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our site.
• If Community Swap Shop ever tries to share your personal information except as set forth above, it will contact you and you may prevent Community Swap Shop from sharing this data by opting out.

How your information is secured

Your personal data on Community Swap Shop is protected by a user name and password login. You are responsible for keeping your user name and password secret, and should be careful to log out of your account after you have finished any given session, especially if you are using a public computer. The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as your name, mailing address, or credit card information) on our registration forms, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). To learn more about SSL, follow this link ( https://www.thawte.com/ siteseal/trustedlink.html ).

Only employees that need to access personal information (such as customer service representatives) will have access to personal information. Community Swap Shop keeps all employees informed and reminded of privacy and security practices.

Your choices about your privacy

You may always opt not to disclose certain personal information, but that may mean that you will not be able to access certain services. For example, your name, telephone number and e-mail address are necessary to complete the registration process. After registration, you can always opt out of receiving non-service related messages by clicking “Unsubscribe Your Subscription” in manage your profile or by contacting us at support@communityswapshop.com . Telephone numbers are collected in order to authenticate user information and for security purposes.  You will never receive an unsolicited telephone call from Community Swap Shop unless it is related to a problem with your account or with regard to posted listings or advertisements.

You will receive an automatic welcome e-mail necessary to complete your registration process. You may also receive strictly service-related announcements on rare occasions, for example, if our service is temporarily suspended. If you do not wish to receive these announcements, you have the option of deactivating your account. You may request that your account be deleted or deactivated from Community Swap Shop by sending an e-mail to support@communityswapshop.com .

You may request that your account be deleted from Community Swap Shop by sending an e-mail to support@communityswapshop.com .

You can add, delete or update your personal information, but Community Swap Shop may retain a copy of the unrevised information. You can also add, delete or update your personal information by clicking on Manage my Profile upon logging in. Contact us at support@communityswapshop.com with any questions. You can unsubscribe from any of the non-service related Community Swap Shop messages or newsletters by clicking the Unsubscribe option at the bottom of your emailed newsletters. If you choose to invite a friend we will ask you for your friend’s e-mail address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time e-mail inviting him or her to visit the site. Your friend may contact us at support@communityswapshop.com to request that we remove this information from our database.

Community Swap Shop does not post any user information along with testimonials unless we have been given permission to do so by the user. We get in touch with our users to verify that they are aware of their personally identifiable information being posted on our public site before anything is posted. The user may submit or revoke a testimonial by contacting us at support@communityswapshop.com .

If you choose to submit any personally identifiable information on our blog, you should be aware that this information can be read, collected, or used by other users on these forums. We are not responsible for the information you choose to submit in these forums.

If you have a complaint about Community Swap Shop’s privacy policy, please send it via email to support@communityswapshop.com or mail it to P.O. Box 15558, Wilmington, NC,  28408. You can also contact us to opt-out of having your personally identifiable information used for certain purposes, including promotional communications, newsletters, or sweepstakes. Your complaint will be filed and reviewed by a qualified member of the Community Swap Shop team. If required, you will receive a response to your message as soon as possible. If necessary, Community Swap Shop will incorporate any changes that are necessary as soon as possible

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Community Swap Shop may amend or change this Policy at its sole discretion at any time. The use of the information we collect at any given point is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time of collection. You should periodically check the Privacy Policy to make sure you understand the current policy.

Community Swap Shop will notify you through e-mail contact or a prominent notice on the site before we implement any material changes regarding our privacy practices.

Conditions of use

Your use of the Community Swap Shop website and other services is subject to this Privacy Policy and Community Swap Shop’s Terms of Use, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of North Carolina state law.