How can we help?

Have a website? Check.

Doing e-Commerce? Check.

Have a privacy statement prominently posted on your site? No? If not, get one.

Now.

California and many other states recently passed legislation requiring anyone collecting potentially sensitive information online to have a clear privacy statement posted on the website. If you do online sales, it is likely you do business in states that require a posted privacy statement.

In Rain POS, it's super easy to put up your own statement and link to it in prominent places. First, you'll need the text for your statement:

• The Better Business Bureau offers this free online outline of how to write a good privacy policy statement.
• If you want some help getting started with content that is specific to your area, Termly offers this great free tool.
• While you're at it, if you don't have an Online Terms and Conditions statement, here is a free one offered by Termly.

 

Key Questions About Privacy Policies

Is a privacy policy required by law?

Privacy Policies are Legally Required. Privacy laws around the world dictate that if you collect personal information from your website visitors, then you need to have a Privacy Policy posted to your site. Many third party services used to enhance website performance also require you to have a Privacy Policy. (Source - Thomson Reuters Legal)

 

Is it illegal to not have a privacy policy?

There is no general federal or state law that requires a company to have a privacy policy in all circumstances. But there are several laws that require one in some circumstances. The notice applies to the “nonpublic personal information” the company gathers and discloses about its consumers and customers.” (Source - Snell & Wilmer Law)

 

Does my state have privacy policy laws protecting me?

There is no single law regulating online privacy. Instead, a patchwork of federal and state laws apply. Some key federal laws affecting online privacy include: The Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC)[1914]– regulates unfair or deceptive commercial practices. (Source - Thomson Reuters Legal)

 

What do I need to know about California's data privacy law?

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which was signed into law in June 2018 by Governor Jerry Brown, is the first United States law following in the footsteps of GDPR. Additionally, the CCPA requires that the California Attorney General publish regulations between Jan. 1, 2020, and July 2, 2020, most revisions didn't take place until Jan 1, 2023. (Source - bloomberglaw.com)

 

Is a privacy policy legally binding?

You're required to post a legally binding Privacy Policy that informs users of the information you're collecting and that protects their personal data. There may be Privacy Policy requirements of third-party services your website/app uses. (Source - FreePrivacyPolicy.com)

 

Does every website need a privacy policy?

Yes, the vast majority of websites need a Privacy Policy, with a few exceptions. The main exception is that you don't need a Privacy Policy if you are not collecting any personal information from website users. Personal information includes things like name, email address, and phone number. (Source - Quora)

 

What states have data privacy laws?

At least 27 states have already established laws regulating the secure destruction or disposal of personal information. And at least 20 states have imposed comprehensive data security requirements. The source article from Bloomberg has the latest, including a map. (Source - Bloomberg Law)

 

Example Privacy Statement

(Source: BBB)

This privacy notice discloses the privacy practices for (website address). This privacy notice applies solely to information collected by this website. It will notify you of the following:

1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used and with whom it may be shared.
2. What choices are available to you regarding the use of your data.
3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Information Collection, Use, and Sharing 
We are the sole owners of the information collected on this site. We only have access to/collect information that you voluntarily give us via email or other direct contact from you. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone.

We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not share your information with any third party outside of our organization, other than as necessary to fulfill your request, e.g. to ship an order.

Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about specials, new products or services, or changes to this privacy policy.

Your Access to and Control Over Information 
You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number given on our website:

• See what data we have about you, if any.
• Change/correct any data we have about you.
• Have us delete any data we have about you.
• Express any concern you have about our use of your data.

Security 
We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for 'https' at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

If you feel that we are not abiding by this privacy policy, you should contact us immediately via telephone at XXX YYY-ZZZZ or via email.

 

Example Terms & Conditions Statement

Shipping Policies 

We always seek to find the most affordable shipping rates with the most dependable service. Our shipping fees include the amount charged to us by the shipping service being used and usually have around a 5% to 10% handling fee added to cover our costs for processing the shipping of orders. If shipping is unavailable or is for some reason more expensive than the amount calculated at order, we will contact you to notify you first. Also, if we are out of any items you might have ordered, we will try to contact you to see if you want what we might have on hand or if you would just want to cancel the item. All shipping fees are non-refundable.

Shipping is free for Domestic orders over $100. Orders shipped free will use the Economy shipping method by USPS. THIS POLICY APPLIES TO DOMESTIC ORDERS ONLY.

Return Policy 
Unless otherwise indicated, all orders for consumables (e.g. food items, energy bars) as well as items custom-configured to your needs (e.g. monogrammed items, fabric yardage, etc.) are non-refundable. Other items are eligible for refund with the following requirements, which needs to be emailed with your written request to support@outdoor247.com:

• Request for refund must be received within 30 days of purchase.
• You must include your Order ID number (from the receipt emailed to you as well as in the packing slip from your shipment).
• In your refund request, you must include your Full Name, Phone Number, Email Address, and Mailing Address.
• Include a full description of the reason for the refund request.

Once we receive your request, we will reply within two business days, typically. If you qualify for a refund, we will give you instructions on returning the item.

PLEASE NOTE: Items with manufacturer defects need to be returned to the manufacturer, not to our store. Please contact the manufacturer in question if the item you received was defective.