Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available in our "About Us" section which you should be able to access from the left menu bar displayed on all pages on our site.  This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the GuitarGearHeads.com web site.

Table Of Contents:

1. The Information We Collect
2. How We Use Information
3. Cookies
4. Log Files
5. Links
6. Tell-A-Friend
7. Our Commitment To Data Security
8. Business Transfers
9. Our Commitment To Children's Privacy
10. How To Contact Us

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The Information We Collect: (Top of Document)

In order to make best use of this site you should register a user name with GuitarGearHeads.com. The typical kinds of information you might submit when registering might include:

• *Real Name
• *User Name
• *Password
• *Email Address
• *Personal Avatar (a picture that represents you)
• Personal Website
• Instant Messenger Information (ICQ, AIM, YIM, MSNM)
• Geographic Location
• Occupation
• Interests
• Additional Information

The types above marked with an asterisk (*) indicate required field. The other fields are optional and are provided only to facilitate your communication with others.  If you choose not to provide certain information, then you may not be able to participate in certain features offered by this site.  Some of this information may be viewable in your user profile should you choose to enter it with your registration information.

On some pages, you may be able to order products, make requests, and register to receive materials. The types of personal information collected at these pages may include:

• Name
• Address
• Email address
• Phone number
• Credit/Debit Card Information
• Additional Shipping Information

On some pages, you can submit information about other people. For example, if you would like to let someone know about this website via our "Tell-a-friend" instant e-mail service, you will need to submit the recipient's e-mail address. In another example, you may decide to order a product as a gift and submit another individual's name and address for delivery purposes. In these circumstances, the types of personal information that might be collected are:

• Name
• Address
• Phone Number
• E-mail Address
• Website URLs
• etc.

You may choose to participate in various promotional offers provided through us or through our partners.  In these cases, you may provide various kinds of identifiable information such as name, e-mail, address, phone number, etc.  However, we will make it known if the offer is promotional and what information will be sent to a third party.

How We Use Information: (Top of Document)

We never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

We use non-identifying and aggregate information to better design our website and to share with advertisers. For example, we may tell an advertiser that X number of individuals visited a certain area on our website, but we would not disclose anything that could be used to identify those individuals.

Other than your user name and personal avatar, you may choose which pieces of information are viewable to others when registering. You can modify this at any time using the "Edit Profile" option. Other users will be able to see your current user name, your current personal avatar, as well as the posts, articles, and comments you have submitted. Also, they may be able to tell if you are currently logged on to the website.

The information you provide about yourself when placing an order is not provided to others. This information is used only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order.   It will be necessary to transmit some necessary information to third-parties for the purposes of completing financial transactions.

We use the information you provide about someone else only to send requested information, ship an ordered product, and/or to confirm delivery. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete a specific request.

We reserve the right to transfer your information to a third party for the purposes of managing normal aspects of our business.  For instance, we may contract with an e-mail newsletter service or an accounting/bookkeeping service.

We use return email addresses to answer the email we receive. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.

Cookies: (Top of Document)

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. Some of our business partners may elect to use cookies on our site (for example, advertisers). However, we have no access to or control over these cookies.

Log Files: (Top of Document)

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.

Links: (Top of Document)

This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we GuitarGearHeads.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.

Tell-A-Friend: (Top of Document)

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. GuitarGearHeads.com will automatically send the friend a one-time email inviting them to visit the site. GuitarGearHeads.com stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email. The friend may contact GuitarGearHeads.com at webmaster@guitargearheads.com to request the removal of this information from their database.

Our Commitment To Data Security: (Top of Document)

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. However, you should be aware that this system may never be completely secure. This site is virtually hosted and uses the XOOPS and OSCommerce PHP based content management systems.  Both use a MYSQL database backend and various third party modules. Our system is subject to any security vulnerabilities attributable to these software and systems. Although it is an unlikely event, it is possible that your data could be purposefully accessed through these vulnerabilities.

We may choose to release account and other personal information when appropriate in order to comply with the law or to enforce or apply our Conditions of Use and other agreements.  It may also be necessary to release information for the purpose of protecting the rights, property, or safety of GuitarGearHeads, our users, or others. This would include the exchange of information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Business Transfers:(Top of Document)

As we continue to develop our business, we might choose to sell or buy portions of our business.  You should know that in these transactions, customer information are typically one of the business assets transferred but will remain subject to promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Notice. Also, in the event that all or a portion of GuitarGearHeads is acquired, customer information will likely be one of the transferred assets.

Our Commitment To Children's Privacy: (Top of Document)

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important to us. 

Unfortunately, we cannot determine whether or not a subscriber to our site is under the age of 13.  As a parent you should be aware of what site's your child visits.  Our assurance to you is that we will attempt to make this site family friendly.  However, we cannot always control the language used by our other members.

If you find something offensive on our site and we will review the issue immediately.  If feel your child is being harassed or endangered by anyone participating on this site, let us know immediately so that we can deal with the situation.

If you would not like your child's information stored on our database, please let us know and we will either establish an alias so that they can still enjoy the site to it's fullest degree, or we will delete the record entirely.

We do not purposely sell products to individuals under the age of 18.  If you are under the age of 18 you should involve your parent or guardian before engaging in any financial transactions with GuitarGearHeads.

How To Contact Us: (Top of Document)

Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please send us an email at webmaster@guitargearheads.com.

(Last Modified: 9/19/04)