What is a Privacy Policy?
This privacy policy describes how we handle your personal information for our services available through the www.puppetline.com (the "Site") and applies generally to our subsidiaries and joint venture web sites whose specific privacy policies are available from their Home Page. Our subsidiaries and joint ventures privacy practices are similar to those described in this Privacy Policy. Subject to the requirements of applicable law, we strive to provide a consistent set of privacy practices throughout the global community. By accepting the Privacy Policy and the User Agreement in registration, you expressly consent to our collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective upon acceptance for new users and is otherwise effective on January 1st, 2009.
What Information does the Site Collect?
You can browse the Site without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. Once you give us your personal information, you are not anonymous to us. If you choose to provide us with personal information, you consent to the transfer and storage of that information to our servers located in the United States.
We may collect and store the following personal information:
- email address, physical contact information, and (depending on the service used) sometimes financial information, such as credit card or bank account numbers:
- transactional information based on your activities on the Site (such as buying and content that relates to your account):
- shipping, billing and other information you provide to purchase or ship an item:
- correspondence through the Site, and correspondence sent to us:
- computer sign-on data, statistics on page views, traffic to and from the Site, and ad data: other information, including IP address and standard web log information: and
- supplemental information from third parties. (For example, if you incur a debt to Puppet Line, we will generally conduct a credit check by obtaining additional information about you from a credit bureau, as permitted by law. As another example, if the information you provide cannot be verified, we may ask you to send us additional information (such as your driver license, credit card statement, and/or a recent utility bill or other information confirming your address), or to answer additional questions online to help verify your information.)
Does the Site Rent or Sell Personal Information?
We will not rent or sell your personal information to third parties for any purpose. We may use your information with information we collect from other companies (such as demographic data) to improve and personalize our services. If you don't wish to receive marketing communications from us, simply indicate your preference once you sign-in on the Site in My Account, similar account status page, or by following the directions within the email.
How does the Site Use My Information?
Our primary purpose in collecting personal information is to provide you with a safe, smooth, efficient, and customized experience. You agree that we may use your personal information to:
- provide the services and customer support you request;
- prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities, and enforce our User Agreement;
- customize, measure, and improve our services and the Site's content and layout;
- tell you about targeted marketing, service updates, and promotional offers based on your communication preferences; and compare information for accuracy, and verify it with third parties.
Will the Site Disclose My Information?
We may disclose personal information to respond to legal requirements, enforce our policies, or protect anyone's rights, property, or safety.
We may also share your personal information with:
- members of our corporate family to help detect and prevent potentially illegal acts and provide joint services; (Our corporate affiliates will market only to users who request these services.)
- service providers under contract who help with our business operations; (such as fraud investigations, bill collection, affiliate and rewards programs and co-branded credit cards)
- other third parties to whom you explicitly ask us to send your information; (or about whom you are otherwise explicitly notified and consent to when using a specific service)
- law enforcement or other governmental officials, in response to a verified request relating to a criminal investigation or alleged illegal activity; (In such events we will disclose name, city, state, telephone number, email address, User ID history, fraud complaints, and bidding history.) and
- other business entities, should we plan to merge with, or be acquired by that business entity. (Should such a combination occur, we will require that the new combined entity follow this privacy policy with respect to your personal information. If your personal information will be used contrary to this policy, you will receive prior notice.)
Without limiting the above, in an effort to respect your privacy and our ability to keep the community free from bad actors, we will not otherwise disclose your personal information to law enforcement, other government officials, or other third parties without a subpoena, court order or substantially similar legal procedure, except when we believe in good faith that the disclosure of information is necessary to prevent imminent physical harm or financial loss or to report suspected illegal activity.
Is My Activity Traceable?
All of your activities on the Site will be traceable to your User ID. Therefore, if you associate your name with your User ID, the people to whom you have revealed your name to will not be able to personally identify your activities.
Does the Site Use Cookies?
We may use "cookies" (small files placed on your hard drive) on certain pages of the Site to help analyze our web page flow, customize our services, measure promotional effectiveness, and promote trust and safety.
A few important things you should know about cookies are that:
- We offer certain features that are only available through the use of cookies.
- We use cookies to help identify you and maintain your signed-in status.
- Most cookies are "session cookies," meaning that they are automatically deleted from your hard drive at the end of a session.
- You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although doing so may interfere with your use of the Site.
What can I do about Spam?
We and our users do not tolerate spam. To report Puppet Line related spam or spoof emails to Puppet Line, please forward the email to info@puppetline.com.
What can I do to Protect My Account?
Your password is the key to your account. Use unique numbers, letters, and special characters and do not disclose your password to anyone. If you do share your password or your personal information with others, remember that you are responsible for all actions taken in the name of your account. If you lose control of your password, you may lose substantial control over your personal information and may be subject to legally binding actions taken on your behalf. Therefore, if your password has been compromised for any reason, you should immediately notify info@puppetline.com and change your password.
Can I Access and Change My Personal Information?
You can see, review and change most of your personal information by logging into the Site. Generally, we will not manually modify your personal information because it is very difficult to verify your identity remotely. You must promptly update your personal information if it changes or is inaccurate. Upon your request, we will close your account, based on your account activity and in accordance with applicable law. We do retain personal information from closed accounts in order to comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our User Agreement, and take other actions otherwise permitted by law.
Is My Information Secure?
Your information is stored on secure servers. We treat data as an asset that must be protected and use lots of tools (encryption, passwords, physical security, etc.) to protect your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure. However, as you probably know, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, and may abuse or misuse your personal information that they collect. Therefore, although we work very hard to protect your privacy, we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your personal information or private communications will always remain private.
Does the Privacy Policy Ever Change?
We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the amended terms on the Site. All amended terms automatically take effect 30 days after they are initially posted on the Site.. If your questions are not answered online, you may write to us at: Puppet Line, Attn: Legal Privacy Practices, 25 Hawthorne St., Elyria, Ohio 44035.