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Privacy Policy

Protecting your privacy is nothing new for us. We recognize that you want to understand how personally identifiable data about you is being gathered and used. We also recognize that you want to be able to make knowledgeable choices about whether to limit the manner in which personally identifiable data about you IS used. This Privacy Policy is our current corporate policy on these subjects. To understand this Privacy Policy, you should read the entire policy carefully through to the What You Consent and Agree To section at the end of the policy.

When you read our Privacy Policy, you can expect to learn about the following topics:

• Who We Are
• Scope and Nature of Policy
• Collection of Data
  • Types and Sources of Data
  • Gathered Use of "Cookies"
  • Third Party Websites
  • Retention of Data
• Data Security
• Use of Data
  • Parties to Which We Disclose Data
  • Type I Uses
  • Type II Uses
  • Sensitive Data
• Options to Limit Use of Data
• Child Privacy Policy/COPPA Agreement
• How to Access or Correct Data
• Future Changes in Policy
• Coordination with Applicable Law
• Customer Questions
• What You Consent and Agree To

Who We Are

Best known as the home of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, Gemstone Publishing was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi as a conduit for his efforts in preserving and promoting the history of the comics medium.

Scope and Nature of Policy

This Privacy Policy covers personally identifiable data collected from and about you. "Personally identifiable data" means any data about an identified or identifiable individual that are recorded in any form. This Privacy Policy does not cover aggregated data from which the personally identifiable characteristics have been removed. We retain the right to use aggregated data in any way that we feel advances our business interests. This Privacy Policy complies with the requirements of the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce on July 21, 2000 (the "Safe Harbor Principles"). Because we comply with the Safe Harbor Principles, our transfers of data from countries in the European Union to the United States meet the adequacy requirements of the European Union Data Protection Directive.

This Privacy Policy includes examples of the types of information we may collect and the kinds of companies to which we may disclose information. These examples are illustrative and should not be considered a complete inventory of our information collection or sharing practices. Accordingly, the words "include" and "including" mean inclusion without limitation.

We do not knowingly solicit personally identifiable data from persons under the age of 13 years.

As used in this Privacy Policy, the words "company" and "companies" mean any corporation(s), limited liability company or companies, partnership(s) or other similar entity or entities.

Collection of Data

Types and Sources of Data Gathered

In the ordinary course of operating our site, we gather personally identifiable data about you, including your name, address(es), telephone number(s), fax number(s), e-mail address(es), date of birth, and credit card information (where applicable) as well as information about your transactions with us, our affiliates or others, such as items purchased, shipping information and preferences, and charges you incur as a result of said purchase.

We gather personally identifiable data about you from a variety of sources, including websites we operate and websites operated by our affiliated companies.

Use of "Cookies"

One way we collect information about you when you use our websites is through the use of cookies. A "cookie" is a set of data that a website server stores on your computer. Cookies enable websites to recognize your computer and to "remember" your entries as you move from page to page, or even when you revisit the site from time to time using the same computer. Cookies stored on your computer by our websites are encrypted. This means that they cannot easily be read by anyone other than us.

We use two different types of cookies in our websites:

• "Session cookies" track the user's progression through our sites in a single visit. These cookies enable us to remember things as the user progresses from one page to another. Your session cookies are deleted as soon as you close your browser. In addition, if you leave your browser open for a prolonged period, they are set to automatically erase themselves after a short period (typically less than one hour).
• "Persistent cookies" remember a user at the user's next visit. Your persistent cookies are not automatically erased, and they remain on your computer until you erase them. (If you do not want these cookies to remain on your computer, you can erase them through use of your browser settings.)

Your browser or other software you install may permit you to restrict the use of session cookies, persistent cookies or all cookies. If you elect not to permit the use of session cookies, you may not be able to use our websites. If you elect not to permit the use of persistent cookies only, you may still enjoy the full functionality of our websites; however, if you do so, you may need to re-enter some data when starting a new session.

Third Party Websites

Our websites may contain links to third party websites, which mayor may not be operated in conjunction with our websites. We do not monitor or control the information collected when you choose to "click through" links to these websites. The treatment of user data by the operators of third party websites may be different from ours. For details regarding their treatment of personally identifiable data about you, you will need to read their privacy policies or contact them.

Retention of Data

While we generally retain personally identifiable data about you as long as we believe it will be useful to us, we do not retain personally identifiable data about you longer than the law of the country and state in which it is being retained permits. Currently, the principal place in which we retain personally identifiable data about you is the State of Maryland, U.S.A.

Data Security

We maintain reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect personally identifiable data about you from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. As part of those precautions, we seek to protect personally identifiable data about you through technologies designed to safeguard the data during its transmission. We restrict access to personally identifiable data about you to those employees we determine need to know that information for us to provide services to you. We also have adopted a policy under which employee misuse of personally identifiable data about you is treated as a serious offense for which disciplinary action may be taken. You should, however, be aware that there is no method of transmitting or storing data that is completely secure. Although their physical characteristics are different, postal mail, telephone calls, faxes and transmissions over the Internet all present possibilities of loss, misrouting, interception and misuse of the data being transmitted.

When we decide what data to seek from or communicate to you, or how to seek or communicate it, we try to strike a reasonable balance between the security of your data and your convenience. We do this because we believe our customers attach value to both. As a result, we sometimes use a method of communication that is less secure than some of its less convenient alternatives. An important example of this occurs in the case of e-mail. When we send e-mail to you, we send it as plain text without encrypting it. We do this because we believe that many of our customers do not currently have the capability to receive encrypted e-mail. As a consequence, though, if our unencrypted e-mail intended for you were misrouted or intercepted, it could be read more easily than encrypted e-mail.

To protect personally identifiable data about you effectively, we need your help. Please do not divulge any membership or login information to anyone who is not employed by us or one of our sister companies. In addition, because e-mail to and from us is not encrypted, please do not include your membership number, or any other information you regard as confidential, in any e-mail you send us. (A more secure way to communicate with us over the Internet is to click on the "Contact Us" link on the home page of our website www.gemstonepub.com and complete the form that you are presented.)

Use of Data

Parties to Which We Disclose Data

We may disclose all of the personally identifiable data about you, in the manner described below, to third parties such as the following:

• Financial service providers, such as banks and credit card companies;
• Non-financial companies, such as Gemstone Publishing

Type I Uses

We may use personally identifiable data about you for a variety of purposes as described in this section, including, but not limited to, using personally identifiable data about you to make and process your transactions and maintain and develop software. We may use affiliates in our corporate family and non-affiliated parties to perform such services for us. We also may disclose information in response to requests from law enforcement agencies or government regulators. A more detailed description of the above uses and all other "Type I Uses" appear below.

By conducting a transaction or joining one of our sites as a member, you are consenting to our use and disclosure of personally identifiable data about you for Type I Uses. If you do not wish to consent to such use and disclosure of personally identifiable data about you, please do not make a purchase or join as member.

Initial Uses. We may initially use the personally identifiable data that we collect from you to make transactions on our site easier by using the data to pre-load information into forms or to use purchase history to suggest items that may interest you.

Protective Uses. We may use and disclose personally identifiable data about you as we reasonably believe is necessary to protect our business; to comply with applicable law; to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of you or others; and to permit us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain. For example, we may, to the fullest extent the law allows, disclose personally identifiable data about you to law enforcement agencies to assist them in identifying individuals who have been or may be engaged in illegal activities.

Disclosure in Corporate Acquisitions and Sales. As we develop our businesses, we may acquire or sell assets, including ownership interests in companies, and companies may acquire financial interests in us. In those transactions, personally identifiable data about you may be among the transferred business assets. We may disclose personally identifiable data about you to any company in connection with a proposed or actual sale, merger, transfer, or exchange of all or a portion of a business or operating unit if you do business or have done business with that business or operating unit, but only if that company agrees to use the data solely for the purpose of making its acquisition decision and to observe the relevant provisions of our Privacy Policy with respect to the data. In the event that personally identifiable data about you is transferred to a company acquiring assets from us, we will require that company to agree to observe the relevant provisions of our Privacy Policy with respect to personally identifiable data about you (including any choices you have made under our Privacy Policy to limit the use of your data).

Disclosure to Agents. We may disclose personally identifiable data about you to any individual or company that we retain to assist us in the conduct of our business, including an individual or company that performs marketing services on our behalf, but only if that individual or company agrees to use the personally identifiable data about you solely for the purposes of performing the tasks on behalf of, and under the instruction of, us and to observe the relevant provisions of our Privacy Policy with respect to the data.

Use of Data from Others. We may obtain personally identifiable data about you from our affiliates and from other companies with which we have business relationships. Such information may be merged with or used to enhance personally identifiable data that we have collected previously, as permitted by applicable law.

Disclosure to Affiliates. We may share personally identifiable data about you among ourselves and disclose such data to our affiliates. In the event that personally identifiable data about you is shared among ourselves or disclosed to our affiliates, the party to which we disclose and with which we share such data will be required to agree to observe the relevant provisions of our Privacy Policy with respect to personally identifiable data about you (including any choices you have made under our Privacy Policy to limit the use of your data).

Type II Uses

The uses of personally identifiable data about you described under this heading are called "Type II Uses." Type II Uses relate to uses of personally identifiable data about you for marketing purposes. You have the right to "opt out" of Type II Uses in the manner described below under the heading Options to Limit Use of Data.

We may aggregate and analyze all of the personally identifiable data about you to enable us to develop targeted marketing programs and service offerings that we believe are tailored to the needs of particular groups of customers. We may then use the personally identifiable data about you to contact you regarding programs and services we believe might be of interest to you. If you wish us not to contact you for this purpose, you may indicate this to us as described under Options to Limit Use of Data.

We may share all of the personally identifiable data about you among ourselves and disclose such data to our affiliates for marketing purposes, provided the affiliates to which we disclose the data agree to observe the relevant provisions of our Privacy Policy with respect to the data being disclosed (including any choices you have made under our Privacy Policy to limit the use of your data). If you wish us not to disclose personally identifiable data about you to our affiliates for marketing purposes, you may indicate this to us as described under Options to Limit Use of Data.

Sensitive Data

In some countries and states, we are legally required to treat other personally identifiable data about you as sensitive and to employ additional safeguards when collecting and using that data. We will observe those requirements. If a country or state legally requires us to treat other personally identifiable data about you as sensitive and not to collect, use or disclose it without your consent, then by conducting a transaction or joining one of our sites as a member and providing that data to us, you are consenting to the collection, use and disclosure of that data by us and our licensees, but only for Type I Uses. We do not disclose that data to our affiliates or our business partners other than as authorized by the applicable law, and we do not use that data for marketing purposes. If you do not wish to consent to the collection, use and disclosure of that data for Type I Uses, then please do not provide that data to us; if under our and our affiliates policies, joining our site as a member or a transaction cannot be made without that data, please do not join our site or conduct a transaction with us or our affiliates.

Options to Limit Use of Data

You may direct us not to communicate any marketing offers or materials to you and not to disclose personally identifiable data about you to our affiliates for marketing purposes. If you do this, we will not, after your direction becomes effective, either communicate any marketing offers or materials to you or disclose personally identifiable data about you to our affiliates for marketing purposes. (We are not, however, responsible for any subsequent use by affiliates of data disclosed to them before your direction became effective.)

How to Choose an Option. Customers and members may indicate the types of marketing materials they wish to receive when they are either (a) joining one of our sites as a member or (b) conducting a transaction by checking or clearing the appropriate check boxes displayed in their web browser.

Subsequent Choices. If you are a member of one of our sites or have conducted a transaction and chosen to limit the use of personally identifiable data about you and you later choose different options, or choose no longer to limit the use of personally identifiable data about you, then we will observe the terms of your latest effective choice as if it were the only instruction we had received from you with respect to the use of personally identifiable data about you.

Option to Limit Non-Marketing Uses of Data. We will not make any non-marketing use of personally identifiable data about you unless either: (i) we give you notice of that use and provide you the opportunity to direct us not to make that use of the personally identifiable data about you; or (ii) applicable law or where applicable, the Safe Harbor Principles, authorize us to make that use of personally identifiable data about you without providing you the opportunity to direct us not to do so. Please note that all Type I Uses of personally identifiable data about you as described in our Privacy Policy constitute uses that are so authorized.

Child Privacy Policy/ COPPA Agreement

Our website is a General Audience website. We want to help you guard your Child's privacy. We want to be sure that no individual under the age of 13 shares information without parental consent. The Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act of 1998 ("COPPA") defines a "Child" as anyone under the age of 13. Gemstone Publishing strictly adheres to COPPA. We will not register or otherwise collect Personal Information from persons who identify themselves as being under the age of 13 during the registration process without the prior verifiable consent of that person's parent or guardian.

The safety and privacy of Children on the Internet is very important to us. We are committed to comply with the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). For more information about COPPA, please visit the Federal Trade Commission's website. No area of our site is directed at children under 13 years of age, but our site asks for age-identifying information from our visitors. We respect the privacy of children, and do not collect any more personal information than reasonably necessary to enable them to participate in the activities we offer at our Web site.

With respect to our online information collection practices from children under 13 years of age, we do not collect personally identifiable information. For example, a child may want to receive a newsletter or other online communications or participate in a contest that involves more than a one-time contact. We will not permit registration or participation in a contest of anyone who identifies him/herself to be under 13 years of age.

With respect to the collection by other organizations of personal information from children at our site, our policy is that we do not have any agreements with outside organizations to collect personal information at our site.

Use and Sharing of Information

The personal information collected from children under the age of 13 is not shared or forwarded by Gemstone Publishing to business partners, advertisers or other third parties. With respect to sharing information, we do not share children’s personal information with anyone other than those who provide support for the internal operations of the Web site and our agents. All third parties with whom we share information have agreed to maintain security and integrity of personal information.

Parental Review

Parents can review the information that we have collected from their children online, prevent the further use or maintenance of such information, or direct the deletion of their children’s personal information by writing to us at Gemstone Publishing, 1966 Greenspring Drive, Timonium, MD, 21093.

How to Access or Correct Data

We make reasonable efforts to ensure that the personally identifiable data we have about you is as accurate, current and complete as necessary for the purposes for which we use that data.

You have a reasonable right to access and review personally identifiable data about you collected by us. You may correct factual errors in that data by sending a request to us that credibly shows the error. You should contact our main office in the country in which you reside for information about how to exercise these rights. As an alternative, you may obtain the information by writing to us at Gemstone Publishing, 1966 Greenspring Drive, Timonium, MD, 21093. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

Future Changes in Policy

We make our Privacy Policy available through a link on the home page of our website, www.gemstonepub.com. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy in the future. Subject to applicable laws, any changes to our Privacy Policy will be effective upon posting of the revised Privacy Policy on the Internet, accessible from a link appearing on the home page of our website www.gemstonepub.com. If we make changes, we will revise the "Last Updated" date on the top or cover page of our Privacy Policy.

If we change our Privacy Policy in a way that is less protective of your privacy, then the change will not apply to our use of any personally identifiable data about you that was collected by us before the change was made, unless we notify you and provide you with the opportunity to direct us not to make new uses of personally identifiable data about you.

Coordination with Applicable Law

We do business in many countries and states. Depending on where you live and where and how you do business with us and our affiliates, our collection and use of personally identifiable data about you may be governed by federal and state laws of the United States (including the Gramm- Leach-Bliley Act), the laws of other countries or the Safe Harbor Principles. Where applicable, we will comply with such laws and the Safe Harbor Principles regarding our collection and use of personally identifiable data about you and will limit any disclosures of data accordingly.

Customer Questions

We hope our Privacy Policy answers your questions about our collection and use of personally identifiable data about you. If it does not, or if you have questions about whether we are observing our Privacy Policy, please write to us at: Gemstone Publishing, 1966 Greenspring Drive, Timonium, MD, 21093. If, after we respond to you, you feel that we have not satisfactorily addressed your questions or concerns, we will refer you to a neutral, independent third party dispute resolution organization.

What You Consent and Agree To

By providing us with personally identifiable data about yourself, you consent and agree to the following:

• You consent to the collection and use of personally identifiable data about you as described in the Collection of Data and Use of Data sections above, subject only to any choices you have made as described under Options to Limit Use of Data, and to your right to access and correct data as described in How to Access or Correct Data above.
• You specifically consent to:
  • The disclosure of personally identifiable data about you in connection with corporate acquisitions and sales as described under Use of Data -Type I Uses -Disclosure in Corporate Acquisitions and Sales; and
  • The collection and use of any sensitive data about you for Type I Uses as described under Use of Data-Sensitive Data.
• You acknowledge that you accept the risks described under Data Security, and agree to take the precautions to assist us in protecting your data described under Data Security.
• You agree that we may make changes in our Privacy Policy as described under Future Changes in Policy.

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