The Grumpy Scale Modeler. Privacy Policy

The Grumpy Scale Modeler. (“The Grumpy Scale Modeler”) is committed to providing service that exceeds expectations. This includes maintaining your privacy when it comes to the collection and use of any personally identifiable information you may provide us via the Internet or otherwise.We believe it is important to explain our information gathering practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

This privacy policy addresses information that The Grumpy Scale Modeler collects from you, both via the Internet or through other methods, and begins by answering the following questions:

• Who is The Grumpy Scale Modeler?
• What categories of personally identifiable information do we collect through our websites or online services about individual consumers, and what are the categories of third-party persons or entities with whom we may share your personally identifiable information;
• How does The Grumpy Scale Modeler use your information?
• What are our process for you to review and request changes to any of your personally identifiable information?
• How do we notify those who use or visit our websites or online services of changes to our privacy policies?

How do we respond to Web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms?

After answering these initial questions, this policy then addresses a number of other issues related to privacy. We suggest that you read this policy in full before providing information to The Grumpy Scale Modeler or visiting The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s websites, and that you regularly check our policy to determine if there have been any material changes that would affect your decision on whether to continue using The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s websites. Please note that this policy is written in English. The Grumpy Scale Modeler does not guarantee the accuracy of any translated versions of this policy. To the extent any translated version of this policy conflicts with the English version, the English version controls.

What information does The Grumpy Scale Modeler collect?

Personally identifiable information is collected by The Grumpy Scale Modeler when you decide to place an order (personally or as gifts for others), register on our websites or for our newsletters, enter a contest, participate in a survey, make a general inquiry, or engage on our forums. The information collected when you order from us or enter a contest could include the following: name, address, phone / fax number, email address, and credit card information. With regard to credit card information, we employ the Internet’s strongest encryption tools and technology, allowing your transaction to be instantaneous, while as secure as possible from unauthorized access or misuse. We also may collect certain information automatically as you use our websites, such as your Internet Protocol address, browser type, computer type, operating system version, type of mobile device (if used), location data (if available), the website from which you navigated to our website, the time and date associated with your use of our website, the pages on our website that you view and how long you view each page, as well as other miscellaneous information about you.

To enhance your online experience, we use “cookies.” Cookies are text files we place in your computer’s browser to store your preferences. Once you choose to furnish the site with personally identifiable information, this information may be linked to the data stored in the cookie, and to personalize your experience on our websites.

We use cookies to understand Internet usage and to improve our content, offerings, and advertisements. The Grumpy Scale Modeler will use cookies, pixel trackers, server logs and other Internet technologies to measure the effectiveness of our website content.

We may have enabled Demographic & Interest reporting via Google Analytics Advertising Features for some of our websites. This information is used to better understand how our website visitors are interacting with our websites. This information is not used to personally identify any website visitors. Visitors can opt-out of Google Analytics Advertiser Features through Ads Settings, Ad Settings for mobile apps, or any other available means (for example, the NAI’s consumer opt-out). Google also provides a listing of currently available opt-outs for the web, here.

We also may use small pieces of code called “web beacons” or “clear gifs” to collect anonymous and aggregate advertising metrics, such as counting page views, promotion views, or advertising responses. We are not responsible for and do not control cookies placed in third party ads or any actions or policies of any third party advertising technology service providers or of any third party members of any related advertising networks.

How does The Grumpy Scale Modeler share information?

The Grumpy Scale Modeler reserves the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on The Grumpy Scale Modeler. We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to prevent harm to The Grumpy Scale Modeler, our websites, or our customers. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts, or other government entities.

Additionally, if the ownership of all or substantially all of our business changes or we otherwise transfer assets relating to our websites to a third party, we may transfer your personal information to the new owner to be used consistent with this policy.

The Grumpy Scale Modeler may also engage certain trusted third party companies and individuals to facilitate the websites on The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s behalf, to perform services (e.g., without limitation, hosting and maintenance services, customer relationship services, web analytics, payment processing and database storage and management services). We may share your personally identifiable information with these third parties to the extent necessary to perform these functions and provide such services.

The Grumpy Scale Modeler may also provide your information to other reputable companies or organizations for marketing or information gathering purposes. Typically, such third parties serve the hobby or leisure-time industries in one form or another. You may request to be excluded from such mailings by contacting us directly or by taking other proactive measures, as specified below later in this policy.

How does The Grumpy Scale Modeler use my information?

We primary use your information to respond to you and to fulfill your needs as a customer, prospective customer or a member of our online forums. We use your information to send you the magazines, books or other products you have ordered, to process your payment, to fulfill your request to enter a contest, to recognize you as a repeat visitor to our websites, to acknowledge your interest in participating in a survey, or to resolve a customer service matter or other inquiry you have brought to our attention.

Information volunteered by you in any message or postings on The Grumpy Scale Modeler provided forums, discussion/bulletin boards, club membership sites, event calendars, or the like, becomes public information. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in any such posted message.

How can I review and request changes to information that is collected through The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s websites or online services, and the use of this information?

At the time you volunteer personally identifiable information and at any time thereafter, you can direct us not to use this information for promotional or informational mailings. At your option, you may also elect to suppress the mailing of renewal notices for any of our magazines. If you do so, your personally identifiable information will be flagged in our system as “do not promote” to correspond with your request, and you will be excluded from the related The Grumpy Scale Modeler mailings. You can also elect separately to be excluded from mailings by any third party to whom your address might otherwise be provided.

If you wish to review or request any changes to information that is stored by The Grumpy Scale Modeler, please contact us HERE.

There are also national clearinghouse organizations and governmental entities where you can register to suppress unwanted solicitations. The most prominent of these is the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The DMA provides mail, email and telephone database “preference services” free of charge to consumers who wish to block all unsolicited direct mail, e-mail and telemarketing contacts, respectively. For more information, visit DMA’s website at www.the-dma.org, or contact them at (202) 955-5030.

In addition to the special measures you may take to suppress unwanted solicitations by contacting us directly, The Grumpy Scale Modeler has implemented procedures whereby files that otherwise would be used for promotional mailings are processed with the DMA to remove any records belonging to individuals who may have registered with DMA’s Mail Preference Service (but not with The Grumpy Scale Modeler).

As yet a further safeguard, many third parties to whom The Grumpy Scale Modeler may provide personally identifiable information take the additional step to suppress the solicitation of anyone who has just recently registered with the appropriate DMA preference services, by doing so just prior to their mailing dates. Although The Grumpy Scale Modeler uses reasonable good faith efforts to require third parties to regularly follow this practice, we cannot, of course, guarantee that they adhere to our expectations.

How does The Grumpy Scale Modeler notify consumers of changes to our privacy policies?

If The Grumpy Scale Modeler decides to make any material changes to our privacy policy, we will notify you by posting the new privacy policy on the websites. You are responsible for consulting this policy regularly to determine The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s current privacy policy, as well as to determine if there are any changes to the prior version(s) of The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s privacy policy. We will always place an updated message in the footer that you may use to identify if it has been changed or modified after the date you last visted. It will of course be your responsibility to know when you last visited the page as we do not track your activity in this way.

Surveys and Sweepstakes

With regard to surveys in which you elect to participate, we may request demographic information (age, family income level, etc.) along with basic information regarding your reading or hobby interests and how The Grumpy Scale Modeler may better serve those needs. Finally, name, address and other contact information may be collected so that we can respond to any customer service issue, request for information or other general inquiry, along with information about the nature of your inquiry.

Demographic and other information volunteered in connection with surveys is used primarily for internal purposes to improve the company’s responsiveness to customers’ wants, needs, interests, opinions and suggestions. On occasion, the aggregate findings and results of such surveys may be published as a matter of interest to the hobbyists/respondents who provided the information, or for the benefit of trade associations or others who may occasionally sponsor such surveys

Our Policy Toward Children Under 13

The Grumpy Scale Modeler’s websites are not directed to children under 13. The Grumpy Scale Modeler does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with personally identifiable information without parental consent, he or she should contact us HERE. If we become aware that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personally identifiable information without verifiable parental consent, we will delete such information from our files.