Privacy Policy

1. The information we collect

When you use our site, we receive and collect certain information. The information that we receive and collect depends on what you do when you visit Wholesaletrains.com.

Automatically Collected Information.
Some information is automatically received and sometimes collected from you when you visit the Wholesaletrains.com site. We receive and collect the name of the domain and host from which you access the Internet; the Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; the browser software you use and your operating system; the date and time you access our site; and the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to our site. We use this information to monitor the usage of our site. Also, when we send emails to you, we may be able to identify information about your email address, such as whether you can read graphic-rich HTML emails. All of the information we automatically capture provides us with the ability to enhance our customers' search and shopping experiences and to determine aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns.

Information Collected via Cookies.
We use cookies to enhance your browsing and shopping experience on the Wholesaletrains.com site. "Cookies" are small files or records that we place on your computer's hard drive to collect information about your activities on the Wholesaletrains.com site. The cookies transmit this information back to the computers at Wholesaletrains.com; these computers are the only computers which are authorized to read such information. The information captured makes it possible for us (i) to speed navigation, keep track of items in your shopping cart, and provide you with custom tailored content; (ii) to remember information you gave to us so you don't have to reenter it each time you visit the Wholesaletrains.com site; (iii) to monitor the effectiveness of certain of our marketing email campaigns; and (iv) to monitor total number of visitors, pages viewed, and the total number of banners served.

Most people do not know that cookies are being placed on their computers when they visit the Wholesaletrains.com site or most web sites because browsers are typically set to accept cookies. You can choose to have your browser warn you every time a cookie is being sent to you or you can turn off cookie placement. If you refuse cookies, you will not be able to open a Wholesaletrains.com Shopping Cart and therefore will not be able to complete an order with us online. Also, by not using cookies, your overall Internet browsing experience will be affected.

Information Collected Using Pixel Tags or Clear GIFs.
To help us understand the effectiveness of certain of our email marketing efforts, Wholesaletrains.com may use "message format" and "message open" sensing technologies. Both technologies require the use of pixel tags or clear GIFs (also called web beacons). The "message format" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails; if so, this information is then associated with your email address so that subsequent messages can be sent to you in HTML format. The "message open" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have opened our email message. We can only detect this if your have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails.

Information You Actively Submit to Wholesaletrains.com.
For most of the browsing services we provide, we neither require nor collect "Personal Customer Information" -- your name, email address, billing address, shipping address(es), phone number and credit card information. You can browse the Wholesaletrains.com site and take as much time as you want to review our books and other products, services and reviews without having to submit such Personal Customer Information. Even when you use our shopping cart as you browse, there is no need to submit Personal Customer Information.

In the following instances, however, we do need you to actively submit Personal Customer Information: when you want to (i) open an account or complete an order, (ii) subscribe to our newsletters, (iii) submit customer reviews.

Creating a Wholesaletrains.com Account or Completing an Order.
You can create a customer account with Wholesaletrains.com to set up a Wish List or to complete an order. To open an account, you will need to create a password-protected account with us. In doing so, we require that you provide us with all of the following Personal Customer Information: your name, email address, billing address, shipping address(es), and credit card information. We use industry standard e-commerce security technology to protect the Personal Customer Information that you transmit to us when you establish your account and each time you access your account information. When setting up the account, we ask you to create a password. When you want to make a purchase or change your stored Personal Customer Information, we approve your access by verifying your email address with your password.

Newsletter Subscription.
You may sign up for free email newsletters full of recommendations and reviews. To do so, you will need to create a newsletter subscriber account and related password. Please note that this newsletter subscriber account and password are different from the Wholesaletrains.com Account and password which you set up to make purchases. You can sign up for our newsletters as either a registered or non-registered customer of Wholesaletrains.com . Furthermore, the contact information collected in the newsletter subscriber account is only used to forward newsletters.

Customer Reviews.
When you submit a customer review, we ask you to disclose your email address in addition to your review and other optional information. You can choose not to have your email address displayed with your review. We only use the information you provide to us to chronicle your review; we do not use such information for marketing purposes. Because your email address at your election can be displayed with your reviews, we can make no assurance that others will not use the information you have provided.

2. How we use and share Personal Customer Information

Occasionally, Wholesaletrains.com uses Personal Customer Information to market products and services. You can opt-out from us using your information for this purpose at any time by visiting Account and following the instructions under Name, Password, and Communication Preferences.

Wholesaletrains.com shares Personal Customer Information that we collect as follows:
Subcontractors. We send Personal Customer Information to third-party subcontractors and agents that work on our behalf to provide certain services. These third parties do not have the right to use the Personal Customer Information beyond what is necessary to assist us. They are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the Personal Customer Information and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized by Wholesaletrains.com .

Service Providers.
We reserve the right to send Personal Customer Information to third-party providers of goods and services that you may purchase from time to time on our site (e.g., warranty provider). Like subcontractors, these third parties do not have the right to use the Personal Customer Information beyond what is necessary to assist us. They are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the Personal Customer Information and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized by Wholesaletrains.com .

Credit card companies.
Credit card transactions are handled by a third-party financial institution and their vendors, which receive the credit card number and other personal identifying information only to verify the credit card numbers and process transactions.

Law Enforcement Investigations.
Wholesaletrains.com may release Personal Customer Information when we believe, in our good judgment, that such release is reasonably necessary to comply with law, enforce or apply the terms of any of our policies or user agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Wholesaletrains.com, our users, or others.

3. Communications from Wholesaletrains.com

As a customer, you may receive the following communications from the Wholesaletrains.com:
Communications related to transaction and account maintenance activities. These communications include without limitation: order confirmations; order update notices; order problem notices; and notices regarding material changes to site policies and account management procedures.

Communications containing information about Wholesaletrains.com and its partners products and services.
We send promotional emails and other outbound communications to Wholesaletrains.com customers regarding products and services from Wholesaletrains.com, its subsidiaries and trustworthy third parties. Any Wholesaletrains.com customer who does not wish to receive such product and service communications can choose to remove his or her contact information from our contact list at any time by going to Account selecting "Name, Password, and Communication Preferences," identifying the "Change My Communication Preferences" section, unchecking the box, and then submitting such changes by selecting the "Save Changes" button on the bottom of the page.

Newsletter Communications.
You may sign up for free email newsletters full of recommendations and reviews. To do so, you will need to create a newsletter subscriber account and related password. Please note that this newsletter subscriber account and password are different from the Wholesaletrains.com Account and password which you set up to make purchases. Furthermore, the contact information collected in the newsletter subscriber account is only used to forward newsletters. To unsubscribe to a newsletter you can either (i) select the link at the bottom of any newsletter and follow the instructions or (ii) go to the Help section of our site, under "Your Account" select Reviewing or Changing Your Subscription Choices and Newsletters and follow the instructions.

4. Underage customers
Our products and services are marketed for purchase by adults or with the consent of adults. This is why Wholesaletrains.com requires a credit card that has been authorized for use to complete purchases on our site.

From time to time, parents and guardians allow their children under the age of 18 to browse our site and to post reviews. Wholesaletrains.com highly values these views on the products and services we offer. As such, users of our site have the opportunity in many instances to submit their reviews. Each user also has the option to post his or her email address and other contact information so that other users of our site may contact them directly. However, to protect the privacy of any user of our site who is under the age of 13, we do not permit them to post any contact information. Please see Review Rules for further information.

5. Linking to third-party web sites

When you click on links and banners on our site that take you to third-party web sites, you will be subject to the third parties' privacy policies. While we support the protection of privacy on the Internet, Wholesaletrains.com cannot be responsible for the actions of any third-party web sites. We encourage you to read the posted privacy statement of any and every site you visit, whether you are linking from our site or browsing on your own.

6. Changes to Privacy Policy

This privacy policy was last changed on December 12, 2002. Wholesaletrains.com reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time by posting the revised privacy policy on our site. The changes will only affect the information we collect after the effective date of the change to our privacy policy unless we clearly express otherwise.

7. Questions or comments

If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please email us at customerservice@wholesaletrains.com.