General Auction Company INC. PRIVACY POLICY
General Auction Company Inc. (”Company“) recognizes that its sellers, visitors, users, and sellers’ users (collectively, “Users”) of, other websites owned or operated by the Company (the “Company Sites”), and other web sites developed and maintained by Company for and on behalf of its sellers (the “Seller Sites”) value their privacy. This Privacy Policy describes important information regarding the use and disclosure of User information collected on the Company Sites and Seller Sites. The company provides this Privacy Policy to help you make an informed decision about whether to use or continue using the Company Sites and Seller Sites. Your use of the Company Sites and Seller Sites and any personal information you provide on the Company Sites and Seller Sites remains subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy, the terms of the customer’s Privacy Policy, any applicable agreement between you and Company, and any applicable Terms of Use. Additionally, with respect to User information collected on the Seller Sites, the sellers may have their own, separate policies regarding the use and disclosure of such User information, including any personal information you provide on the Seller Sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such sellers. We encourage you to review the seller’s privacy policy and/or contact the seller for more information about the policies that apply to the seller’s use and disclosure of your User information. Please note that any message, posting or other content that you publicly post on a forum or other area of the Company Sites and Seller Sites becomes published content and is not considered personally identifiable information subject to this Privacy Policy. Company has the legal right to use your Personal information in the ways described in this Privacy Policy based on your consent, or on the need to use the personal information to provide you with goods or services that you request, or for the legitimate purposes of furthering Company’s existing relationship with you or preventing fraud. Accordingly, you have a contractual rather than a statutory obligation to provide such information. If you do not provide such information, you may be unable to use the Company Sites or the Seller Sites and Company or the sellers may be unable to provide any goods or services that you request.
1. COMPANY SITE INFORMATION
The Information Company Collects from Company Sites User-Provided Information: When You register as a User, You provide certain personally identifiable information (such as your name and email address) to Company. In addition, additional personal information may be collected by Company when you send e-mails or other messages to Company, and when you participate in various activities on the Company Sites such as posting messages in our forums or in the comments section, taking advantage of promotions, responding to surveys, or subscribing to newsletters or other mailing lists. Cookies Information: When you visit the Company Sites, we may send one or more cookies – a small text file containing a string of alphanumeric characters – to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. The company uses both session cookies and persistent cookies. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser help file directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Company Sites may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled. Log File Information: When you use the Company Sites, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol (”IP“) address, browser type, browser language, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform type, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser. Clear GIFs Information: When you use the Company Sites, we may employ “clear GIFs” (a.k.a. Web Beacons) which are used to track the online usage patterns of our Users anonymously (i.e., in a non-personally-identifiable manner). In addition, we may also use clear GIFs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened by recipients. The Way Company Uses Information If you submit personally identifiable information to us through the Company Sites, then we use your personal information to operate, maintain, and provide to you the features and functionality of the Company Sites. We may use your email address or other personally identifiable information to allow us or our authorized affiliates to contact you regarding available products or services. You will have the ability to opt-out of such contacts. We may also use your email address or other personally identifiable information for non-marketing or administrative purposes (such as notifying you of Company Site changes or for customer service purposes). We use both your personally identifiable information and certain non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous User usage data, cookies, IP addresses, browser type, clickstream data, etc.) to improve the quality and design of the Company Sites and to create new features, promotions, functionality, and services by storing, tracking, and analyzing User preferences and trends. We use cookies, clear gifs, and log file information to: (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Company Sites; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information; (c) monitor the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns; (d) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, pages viewed, etc.; and (e) track your entries, submissions, and status in promotions, sweepstakes, and contests.
When Company Discloses Information
We may provide personally identifiable information and non-personally-identifiable information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, or other businesses or persons for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information solely on our behalf, and we use reasonable efforts to limit their use of such information and to use other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. We may share non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous User usage data, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with interested third-parties to assist them in understanding the usage patterns for certain content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality on the Company Sites. We may release personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state, federal and international laws or respond to a court order, subpoena, or search warrant. Company also reserves the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information that Company believes, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to enforce our Terms of Use or other agreements, take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend itself against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of our web site, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Company, our Users or others.
Your Choices About Privacy
You may decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Company Sites, in which case Company may not be able to provide certain services to you. You may update or correct your account information at any time by visiting your account page. You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy and completeness of your personal and other information. If you would like to review your personal information, or if you believe that any of your information is incorrect, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement, simply email us at info@generalauction.com. To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you account access or making corrections. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information at all times.
Third-party Advertisers, Links to Other Sites
Company may allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Company Sites. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on the Company Sites. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content you see. Company does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out. However, please note that if an advertiser asks Company to show an advertisement to a certain audience (for example, women ages 18-24) or audience segment and you respond to that advertisement, the advertiser or ad-server may conclude that you fit the description of the audience they are trying to reach. The advertiser may also use information regarding your use of the Company Sites, such as the number of times you viewed an ad (but not any personally identifiable information), to determine which ads to deliver to you. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks for more information on their practices and for instructions on how to opt-out of certain practices. Company’s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.
SELLER SITE INFORMATION
The Information Company and Seller Collects from Seller Sites
User-Provided Information: When You register as a User, You provide certain personally identifiable information (such as your name and email address) to Company. In addition, additional personal information may be collected by Company when you send e-mails or other messages to Company, and when you participate in various activities on the Seller Sites such as posting messages in our forums or in the comments section, taking advantage of promotions, responding to surveys, or subscribing to newsletters or other mailing lists.
Cookies Information: When you visit the Seller Sites, we may send one or more cookies – a small text file containing a string of alphanumeric characters – to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. Company uses both session cookies and persistent cookies. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser help file directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Seller Sites may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.
Log File Information: When you use the Seller Sites, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends whenever you visit any website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol (”IP“) address, browser type, browser language, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform type, number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser.
Clear GIFs Information: When you use the Seller Sites, we may employ “clear GIFs” (a.k.a. Web Beacons) which are used to track the online usage patterns of our Users anonymously (i.e., in a non-personally-identifiable manner). In addition, we may also use clear GIFs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened by recipients.
The Way Company Uses Information.
If you submit personally identifiable information to us through the Seller Sites, then we use your personal information to operate, maintain, and provide to you the features and functionality of the Seller Sites. We may use your email address or other personally identifiable information to allow us or our authorized affiliates to contact you regarding available products or services. You will have the ability to opt-out of such contacts. We may also use your email address or other personally identifiable information for non-marketing or administrative purposes (such as notifying you of Company Site changes or for customer service purposes). We use both your personally identifiable information and certain non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous User usage data, cookies, IP addresses, browser type, clickstream data, etc.) to improve the quality and design of the Seller Sites and to create new features, promotions, functionality, and services by storing, tracking, and analyzing User preferences and trends. We use cookies, clear gifs, and log file information to: (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Seller Sites; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information; (c) monitor the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns; (d) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, pages viewed, etc.; and (e) track your entries, submissions, and status in promotions, sweepstakes, and contests.
When Company Discloses Information
We may provide personally identifiable information and non-personally-identifiable information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, or other businesses or persons for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information solely on our behalf, and we use reasonable efforts to limit their use of such information and to use other appropriate confidentiality and security measures. We may share non-personally-identifiable information (such as anonymous User usage data, referring / exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with interested third-parties to assist them in understanding the usage patterns for certain content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality on the Seller Sites. We may release personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state, federal and international laws or respond to a court order, subpoena, or search warrant. Company also reserves the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information that Company believes, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to enforce our Terms of Use or other agreements, take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend itself against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of our web site, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Company, our Users or others.
Your Choices About Privacy
You may decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Seller Sites, in which case Company may not be able to provide certain services to you. You may update or correct your account information at any time by visiting your account page. You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy and completeness of your personal and other information. If you would like to review your personal information, or if you believe that any of your information is incorrect, or if you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement, simply email us at info@generalauction.com. To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you account access or making corrections. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information at all times. If you do not wish to have your personally identifiable information used by Company to promote Company’s own or third parties’ products or services, or if you do not want Company to share your personally identifiable information with third parties (other than the sellers with whom you’ve chosen to form a relationship and form whom we have been engaged to operate a Seller Site), including for promotional or direct marketing purposes such as delivering advertisements according to our advertisers’ target-audience preferences, you can opt out by logging into the Company Site or Seller Site and adjusting your user preferences in your account profile by checking or unchecking the relevant boxes or by sending Company an email stating your request to . For this opt-out to function, you must have your browser set to accept browser cookies. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may send us a return email asking to be omitted from future email distributions. Your opt-out would not apply to disclosure to a third party that is acting on our behalf and under our instructions in support of our permitted uses of your Personal Information. Please note that if you opt out of certain disclosures of your information to third parties, our services will no longer function and we can no longer effectively provide services to you, and we reserve the right to cancel your account.
Third-party Advertisers, Links to Other Sites
Company may allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Seller Sites. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on the Seller Sites. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content you see. Company does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out. However, please note that if an advertiser asks Company to show an advertisement to a certain audience (for example, women ages 18-24) or audience segment and you respond to that advertisement, the advertiser or ad-server may conclude that you fit the description of the audience they are trying to reach. The advertiser may also use information regarding your use of the Seller Sites, such as the number of times you viewed an ad (but not any personally identifiable information), to determine which ads to deliver to you. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks for more information on their practices and for instructions on how to opt-out of certain practices. Company’s privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or web sites.
3. OUR COMMITMENT TO DATA SECURITY
3.1. Company uses commercially reasonable security devices to preserve the integrity and security of your personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Company and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission of information, Company makes commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the security of our systems. However, please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our security safeguards.
3.2. If Company learns of a security systems breach, then we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. Company may post a notice on the Company Sites if a security breach occurs. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.
4. OUR COMMITMENT TO CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
4.1. Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. For that reason, Company does not knowingly collect or maintain information on the Company Sites from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of the Company Sites is directed to persons under 13 or even 18 years of age. If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access the Company Sites at any time or in any manner. If Company learns that personally identifiable information of persons under 13 years of age has been collected on the Company Sites without verified parental consent, then Company will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. See Section 5.2 regarding use of the Company Sites by E.U. Residents between the ages of 13 and 16.
5. SPECIAL NOTE TO INTERNATIONAL USERS
5.1 The Company Sites are hosted in the United States and are intended for and directed to users in the United States. If you are a User accessing the Company Sites from the European Union, the European Economic Area, Asia, or any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure, that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through your continued use of the Company Sites and Seller Sites, which are governed by U.S. law, this Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use, you are transferring your personal information to the United States and you consent to that transfer and the use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. 5.2 In particular, if you are a resident (an “E.U. Resident”) of the European Union, the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom (collectively, the “E.U. Countries”), please read this section carefully for more information about our collection, processing and transfer of your personal information and your rights related to such activities. If you are an E.U. Resident, we have the legal right to collect, process, use, and retain your personal information (“E.U. Personal Information”) in the ways described in this Privacy Policy, based on your consent, and our legitimate interests in maintaining the Company Sites, Seller Sites and providing services to you relating to their operation, and in preventing fraud. Accordingly, you have a contractual rather than a statutory obligation to provide such information. If you do not provide such information, you may be unable to use the Company Sites or Seller Sites, and we may be unable to provide any services that you need or request. In connection with our collection and use of your E.U. Personal Information, we may transfer all or certain portions of your E.U. Personal Information to our servers in the United States or to our third-party service providers in the United States or in other countries. Please note that the governing bodies in your jurisdiction have determined that the laws of the United States and as applicable certain of those other countries do not provide adequate protection for your E.U. Personal Information. Accordingly, we are transferring your E.U. Personal Information from your country to the United States and our third-party service providers, based on your explicit consent, and you acknowledge and agree that we may collect, use and disclose your E.U. Personal Information, both before and after such transfer, in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Further, when transferring your E.U. Personal Information to our service providers in the United States or in other countries, we will use specific contracts approved by the European Commission that give your E.U. Personal Information the same protection it has in E.U. Countries. We securely store your E.U. Personal Information in the United States in accordance with reasonable prevailing standards. We will keep such information for no longer than necessary consistent with the purposes of our use, as stated in this Privacy Policy. The length of time we retain your E.U. Personal Information will depend on any legal obligations we have (such as tax recording purposes), the nature of any contracts we have in place with you, the existence of your consent or our legitimate interests as a business. If you are an E.U. Resident, you will have the following additional rights with respect to your E.U. Personal Information (your “E.U. Privacy Rights”): 1. If we intend to disclose your E.U. Personal Information to any third party that will have the right to process your E.U. Personal Information, such as our hosting provider, Amazon Web Services, we will enter into a contract with that third party that provides that your E.U. Personal Information may be processed only for limited and specified purposes consistent with the consent that you have provided to us, and that the third party must provide the same level of protection for your E.U. Personal Information that we are obligated to provide under this Privacy Policy. In addition, we will notify you if that third party will have the right to determine the purposes for which it will process your E.U. Personal Information and the means it will use to process your E.U. Personal Information (rather than just providing requested assistance to us in support of our permitted uses of your E.U. Personal Information). In certain situations, we may be required to disclose your E.U. Personal Information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. 2. If we are processing your E.U. Personal Information based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time. Your withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of our processing based on your consent before your withdrawal. If you withdraw your consent, we may not be able to provide the Company Sites or support the Seller Sites, or services to you. We will advise you if this is the case at the time you withdraw your consent. 3. You may restrict our use and processing of your E.U. Personal Information by sending us an e-mail stating your request to info@generalauction.com if you have contested the accuracy of that information, if the processing is unlawful or if we no longer need such information for the purposes for which it was collected. We will then store your E.U. Personal Information and process it only with your consent, or to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim or to protect the rights of others. The restriction with respect to information claimed to be inaccurate would end if we verify the accuracy of that contested information. 4. We do not collect, store or process sensitive information related to your racial or ethnic identity, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, health (including genetic and biometric data), sex life, or sexual orientation (“E.U. Sensitive Information”). We will not use or disclose any of your E.U. Sensitive Information without your explicit consent, subject to certain limited exceptions. Should we wish to make any such use or disclosure, we will notify you by e-mail and will request that you authorize such use or disclosure by responding to the e-mail with your explicit consent. 5. We may create a profile to analyze or predict your personal preferences or interests solely related to your use of the Company Sites or Seller Sites, and for the purposes described in this Policy. We do not otherwise create profiles to analyze or predict your performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behavior, location, or movements. We do not make any decision about you that would have legal consequences or similarly significant effects on you based solely on automated decision-making, including the use of profiles. 6. Upon our receipt of your request by e-mail at info@generalauction.com and our verification of your identity, we will advise you whether we are processing E.U. Personal Information concerning you and, if so, will provide you with a copy of your E.U. Personal Information being processed and certain information about the nature and purposes of the processing. If your E.U. Personal Information is used for automated decision-making, we will provide you with summary information on the logic being used and the types of decisions being made. You may correct, amend or delete any such E.U. Personal Information that is inaccurate or incomplete. 7. Upon your request, we will erase any of your E.U. Personal Information that is no longer needed for the purpose for which it was collected or that is being used for direct marketing purposes, or if our use is based on your consent and you withdraw that consent, or if we have made such E.U. Personal Information public. We will not erase such information, however, to the extent it is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of a legal claim or another exception applies under applicable law in your jurisdiction. 8. The Company Sites may be used by E.U. Residents between the ages of 13 and 16 only with parental consent. If we learn we have collected or received E.U. Personal Information from an E.U. Resident under the age of 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. In addition, if you are an E.U. Resident under the age of 16 and we have collected your E.U. Personal Information to provide goods or services to you for a fee, we will erase that E.U. Personal Information upon request. 9. If we are using your E.U. Personal Information on the basis of your consent and we change our Policy to permit any use or disclosure of your E.U. Personal Information that is materially different than the uses for which it was originally collected or subsequently authorized by you, we will obtain your consent before we make such further uses of your E.U. Personal Information. 10. You will not have to pay a fee to exercise any of your E.U. Privacy Rights. We may, however, charge a reasonable fee if a request is clearly unfounded, repetitive or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in those circumstances. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and to ensure your right to exercise your E.U. Privacy Rights. This is a security measure to ensure that your E.U. Personal Information is not disclosed to a person who does not have a right to receive it.
6. IN THE EVENT OF MERGER, SALE, OR BANKRUPTCY
6.1. In the event that all or part of Company is acquired by or merged with a third party entity, you agree that we may, in any of these circumstances, transfer or assign the information we have collected from our Users as part of such merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control. In the unlikely event of our bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, or assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the application of laws or equitable principles affecting creditors’ rights generally, we may not be able to control how your personal information is treated, transferred, or used.
7.CHANGES AND UPDATES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
7.1. This Privacy Policy may be revised periodically, as reflected by the “effective date” below. Please revisit this page to stay aware of any changes. In general, we only use your personal information in the manner described in the Privacy Policy in effect when we received the personal information you provided. Your continued use of the Company Sites constitutes your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any future revisions. 7.2. For revisions to this Privacy Policy that may be materially less restrictive on our use or disclosure of the personal information you have already provided to us, we will attempt to provide you notice (based on your contact information you have provided us) before implementing such revisions with respect to such information.
8.DATE LAST MODIFIED
8.1. This Privacy Policy was last modified May 23, 2022.
9.CONTACT INFORMATION
Please contact Company at info@generalauction.com with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy. We try to respond to all legitimate requests within a reasonable timeframe. Occasionally, it may take us longer if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
