As with all shopping websites, we collect personal information from you when you shop online at littleistanbulgifts.com.
We use this information to make your shopping experience as easy and enjoyable as possible. We need it to process your order, inform you of any delays or problems and occasionally to send you special offers and promotions.
The information we collect is:
- Your name – so we know what to call you
- Email address – so we can email your order confirmations, delivery delays, offers etc. You can unsubscribe here at any time. Please allow 5 days for your request to be updated across all our systems.
- Shipping address – an obvious one
- Telephone number – we’ll only call if we have a delivery problem
- Credit card details – we only ask for these when you place an order
- Mobile number – so we can text you with details about your orders or where we have a question
We use the latest secure server technology to ensure this information is protected to the highest standards.
We use encryption to safeguard your credit card information and only accept orders from web browsers that permit communication through Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology - this means you cannot inadvertently place an order through an unsecured connection. Most web browsers above version three support this security.
This encryption makes it virtually impossible for unauthorized parties to read any information that you send us.
The encryption technique we use is the highest standard available for e-commerce and certified by VeriSign, the world's most respected certification body for Internet firms.
DATA COLLECTION AND PROTECTION
Any personal information you provide to us is maintained on secure servers. We collect information when you register online or update your account, log-in, place an order, communicate online with our customer service representatives, opt-in to receive our emails, shop online, request a catalog, participate in a sweepstakes, contest, promotion or survey, or join our social networking sites. We may also collect information from you through our catalogs or other marketing material. This information may include, but is not limited to, your contact information (for example, your name, email address, billing and shipping addresses and phone number). If you create an online account, you also have the option of providing your product preferences and demographic information.
There are limited circumstances where we may share some of your data with others and they are as follows:
- With agents (including credit reference agencies, credit card clearing agencies, fraud prevention and detection agencies, delivery companies and data processing analysts) that we use to process the orders you place with us or who assist us in the service we provide to you. In these instances, we provide them with only the information they need to perform their function. In the unlikely event that our business assets are ever sold to or purchased by another company, Little Istanbul INC may disclose your personal information to a purchaser that agrees to abide by the terms and conditions of this privacy policy.
- You should also be aware that we may disclose specific information about you if required to do so by law, governmental request, process or court order or based on our good faith belief that it is necessary to conform or comply with such law, request or court order or to protect the users of our websites or the public.
- To outside research companies whom we may ask to contact you directly for your opinions on our products and services (in which case we provide them with only the information they need to perform their function).
- Occasionally, we or our selected partners may make use of social media platforms for online advertising purposes.
If you have questions about your personal data or our privacy policy, please contact us at info@littleistanbulgifts.com.
To see all the information we have about you, and to correct any inaccuracies, please write to:
The Data Protection Officer
27 N. Main Street, Suite 27
White River Junction, Vermont 05001
We only store your card number and expiry date once payment authorization has completed.
We will securely store your payment card information for 1 year, to allow us to process refunds in accordance with our Refund Policy.
You may choose to save your card details to speed up the checkout process. If you wish to remove your card details at a later date, you can do so by deleting your saved card from account preferences on the website.
COOKIES AND WEB BEACONS
Cookies are small text files that websites send to your computer. A cookie can be thought of as an Internet user's identification card. They let the website know when the user has returned. This lets the site bring up information relevant to that user, for example your name, past orders, etc.
Cookies make the interaction between users and websites faster and easier. Without cookies, it would be very difficult for a website to allow a visitor to fill up a shopping basket or to remember the user's preferences or registration details for a future visit. The Little Istanbul Gifts website uses cookies to allow customers to move from one part of the web site to another and to add items to the shopping basket without having to login repeatedly.
We also use cookies to track visitors' interest in our products. We may use this to understand what most appeals to our customers so we can make our offers as appropriate as possible. Browsing behavior is also used to create relevant banner advertising with product recommendations that we believe best relate to the items you viewed on our website. These banners are then served across other websites that you may visit, typically news sites, video sites and blogs. This process is called behavioral advertising and although the adverts are individually tailored to each visitor, all cookie data is anonymous and stored temporarily. Additionally, all banners of this type feature an "i" icon that provides more information from each advertising network and instructions on how to opt out. We also use the browsing behavior data to create personal product recommendations on our website, our marketing emails and in our printed catalogue.
Cookies are not computer programs, and can't read other information saved on your hard drive. They cannot be used to disseminate viruses, or get a user's email address etc. They only contain and transfer to the website as much information as the users themselves have disclosed to that website. It is possible to opt out of cookies via your browser’s cookie settings, but if you do this you will not be able to shop from the Little Istanbul Gifts website as the functions of the website are dependent on cookies. Please note that cookies are computer specific, so if you log on to any site from a different computer, the cookie settings on that computer will apply.
For further information about managing and disabling cookies on your computer see www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies.
By using our website, you consent to our placement of cookies on your computer. You may occasionally get cookies from our business partners or other third parties. We have no access to or control over these cookies.
Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies, but if you do not wish to have cookies on your system, you can set your browser preferences to refuse them or to alert you when cookies are being sent. In order to disable cookies, please consult your browser's "help" section for instructions. Additionally, if you have an Adobe Flash player installed on your computer, your Flash player can be set to reject or delete Flash cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the features of our websites.
Web beacons are small strings of code that are placed in a web page or in an email message. They are sometimes called "clear GIFs" (Graphics Interchange Format) or "pixel tags". Web beacons are most often used in conjunction with cookies to track activity on our websites. When you visit a particular web page, web beacons notify us of your visit. Since web beacons are used in combination with cookies, if you disable cookies the web beacons will only detect an anonymous website visit. When used in an email, Web beacons enable us to know whether you have received the email.
DATA OVER THE INTERNET
We use reputable third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf. Sometimes these service providers need information about our customers in order to do their jobs, such as fulfill orders and promotions, maintain and manage our customer database and report on customer behavior and/or preferences. These service providers access to your information, we require them to maintain your information in the strictest confidence and we do not permit them to use it in any way other than to help us provide you with better service.
We currently use the services of a few carefully selected companies to help manage and optimize our Internet business and communications. These companies help us to measure the effectiveness of our advertising and better understand how visitors use our sites. To do this, cookies are placed on computer browsers and web beacons are placed on our websites on our behalf. The type of information collected in this manner includes pages visited, products viewed and products placed in your shopping cart. By supplementing our records, this information helps us to identify what pages are most attractive to our visitors, which of our products most interest our customers and what kinds of offers our customers like to see.
If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by our third party service provider, please contact us at: info@littleistanbulgifts.com.
You can also read more about online marketing practices and the technologies that support them by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative's website.
PRIVACY POLICY UPDATES
We may update our privacy policy from time to time. Whenever we make a change, we will post the updated policy at this site and we encourage you to check our policy periodically. If we make a material change to our privacy policy that would lessen your privacy rights, we will either continue to honor our prior policy for information that we collected when it was in force, or we will ask for your consent to the change. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our privacy policy, please contact us:
- By email: info@littleistanbulgifts.com
- By phone: 1-802-698-8611, 7 days per week, 10am – 6pm
- By mail:
27 N. Main Street, Suite 13
White River Junction, Vermont 05001
United States