corvettecop

With all the news (e.g. Radio Shack, etc) about personal information that we give to companies being sold off or shared without our permission, it dawned on me that a pledge by vendors on this forum- a policy that is written and posted by said vendors, would be a nice way to "add value" to these vendor's products and services. To that end, I've put together a boilerplate policy that I would like to see adopted by our sponsoring vendors. In my case, such a pledge would instill confidence and trust.

Read on . . .
=======================

Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products and/or services. We don’t build a profile based on your e-mail content, purchase history or web browsing habits to sell to anyone. We don’t ‘monetize’ or share the information the personal information you give to us, including email address. We will not sell or rent your personally identifiable information to anyone at any time. We will not use any personal information beyond what is necessary to assist us in delivering to you the services you have requested. And we don’t read your e-mail or your messages to get information to market to you. Plain and simple.

$$$frumnuttin'

Steve_R

This should go well.

Or not.

CCA Corvette Parts

^^^^

We do all that as a normal course of business

So

Feel free to shop us all you want I have included a link to both
our websites for your shopping convenience

http://www.customcorvetteaccessories.com/_index.php

http://www.c7corvettepartsandaccessories.com/

And we don't keep your credit card information on file - it is purged
from our system every night. (the credit card processing company
keeps it of course) but that is not our company and is required by law

Regards
Chip

corvettecop

Kudos to you Chip! Thanks for responding!

corvettecop

Steve- why would you think this would not go well? Seems like a reasonable concern and request.

Steve_R

Well, first it's in the wrong forum. Second, you're essentially trying to set or change the policy here for sponsor vendors, which is not your responsibility. Third, you request something that only you, as one of thousands of members here, wants (unless you've polled the membership and incorporated their input, which I doubt). I could go on but will refrain.

pewter99

alternatively you could read the vendors webpage and learn their policies BEFORE doing business with them....

MikeyTX

Still waiting to hear back from Vegas ............ Gotta know what the line is before I put money on the table ...............

corvettecop

Ooooo- good points Steve. Let me see if i can address them one by one . . .

First- All in all, I think this was the exactly right place for this thread- I own a C7 and it's not a Technical issue so that means its a "general" discussion. I mean as general as in some of the other threads I see where some members pile on another when they do a mod that isn't well liked- you know, the high school bully stuff: those are in general discussion areas. Good entertainment for some of our members, sad to see for most but yet still considered "General" in nature. If that sort of thing isn't technical, then this topic isn't as well. If there is a better place for this topic, maybe suggest a different place in the forum. If you don't like the thread to begin with, that's ok and you can suggest I . . . how did you say it . . ."refrain" . . . from posting it. I won't listen but you can suggest it (free country and all).
Second- Yes i am trying to effect policy of the vendors. That's what is great about our free market economy, the customer can ask for certain things and if that "ask" hits critical mass then vendors adopt said change. We consumers find out about such issues because someone speaks up. There are many, many examples of this. For example, Radio Shack discusses selling customer data despite saying they would not (consumers react negatively), corporations like Target have a data security breach and loose control of customer data (consumers react negatively), McDonald's brings back the McRib sandwich (consumers react positively- yea the McRib is back!), etc.
Third- Polling the membership . . . another good point Steve! To that end, I will create a poll that asks the following: "Do you want the vendors on this forum to sell your personal information, which CAN include name, address, phone number and credit card information to other entries without your permission?" Steve_R gets to vote first.

That said, I have limited law enforcement powers here and I certainly cannot impose my common sense upon others. What I CAN do is suggest things that ARE common sense based on real world experience that would have a positive impact on the community at large and let said community endorse and get behind such a movement or just let it go (free will and all).

I'd say mission well done...

corvettecop

Did that- it's what got me to start the thread.

pewter99

I just mentioned it because thats what I do before I order from anyone not just Corvette stuff

corvettecop

Most people just assume their data is safe. Be it from the selling of that data or the protection thereof, people assume the best. I can tell you those are bad assumptions. A little thing like a privacy policy- posted and admired to for all to see, is something that is gaining traction and for good reason.

I can say that you checking (as I did) and looking for some sort of written, posted policy isn't done by most.

That said, I felt it a good idea to pose the question (and challenge) to our sponsoring vendors for the good of the forum membership at large.

FYREANT

well, I'm with Steve. I don't think this will bode well. you are basically talking "advertising politics" and that just doesn't go over well. Consider this fact - In some cases, these vendors may share your information and make a profit off of it, which is then passed off to all of us in the form of "Forum Member Discounts". Don't get me wrong, I do not disagree with your logic, I just think this will go over like wearing white to a ketchup party...

corvettecop

I believe it more about disclosure then politics. You are certainly entitled to choose not to know what a vendor's privacy policy is, as is everyone on this forum. I, however, feel it SHOULD BE KNOWN what vendors sell your data and which ones don't. Vendors don't have to agree to be ethical and disclose- but it would be obvious if the they don't say one way or another. My point is this- the data these folks have can easily be used for identity theft as well as other nafarious purposes. With respect to vendors that do sell this information, it would be fairly easy for anyone to buy such data and then use it for purposes not intended by the consumer during the original transaction. And that's a risk one should know before doing business with anyone.

In a nutshell, folks need to know there IS such a thing as the selling of their personally identifiable information without their permission and it's silly not to at least ask what the policy is if it's not posted, that way a person can decide if they want to do business with such businesses. IMHO of course.

But kudos to you for a logical response. I'm always open to such debate on issues like this.

Zip Corvettes

I think the majority of us all ready abide by this. We have never sold a mailing list or any customer information and we never will. We do keep track of what year car you order for so when a new catalog comes out it automatically get shipped but that is it.
Justin

MikeyTX

This ! In addition to which, should one want their name removed from future mailing lists, call the vendor with the customer code from the catalog. They are more than happy to comply. Never had an issue.

0Xplosive Performance

We do not and never will sell customer information see our policy statement on our website
http://www.xplosiveperformance.com/Policy_ep_27.html

Top Flight Reproductions

We do not and never have or will sell customer information

Peter C.