Protecting the privacy of all users is very important to TheTieXchange.com™. Accordingly, TheTieXchange.com™ posts this Privacy Policy to inform you of the types of personal information collected on www.TheTieXchange.com™ (the “Site”), and how the Site uses and protects this information.

1. Your Personal Information

If you register as a user of this Site, TheTieXchange.com™ will collect certain personally identifiable information from you such as your name, street address, telephone number, credit or debit card information, screen name, and e-mail address. The Site may also retain information about your trading history (including the dates on which you conducted exchanges, the items exchanged, and your trading partners), any feedback you post on the Site, feedback posted about you by other users, and any personal correspondence, such as e-mails or letters, sent to the Site by you, or by third parties about you, regarding your activities or postings on the Site. The foregoing is collectively referred to as “Personal Information.”

2. Your Consent to This Privacy Policy

By accepting the User Agreement when you register on the Site, you consent to the use of your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective upon your registration with the Site.

3. How the Site May Use Your Personal Information

Under this Privacy Policy, TheTieXchange.com™ will use your Personal Information only as follows:

a) TheTieXchange.com™ will use your Personal Information to send the following e-mails to you: (1) immediately following registration, you will receive an e-mail welcoming you to the Site; (2) if an exchange you have proposed is accepted by your trading partner, you will receive an e-mail informing you of this; (3) if you inform the Site that you have forgotten your password, you will receive an e-mail from the Site containing your screen name and password; and (4) other administrative e-mails relevant to your use of the Site on an as-needed basis.

b) TheTieXchange.com™ may use your Personal Information to resolve disputes; remedy problems; collect fees owed; detect and protect the Site against error, fraud and other criminal activity; and to enforce the User Agreement.

c) TheTieXchange.com™ may use Personal Information to improve marketing and promotional efforts, to analyze Site usage, and customize the Site's content, layout, and services.

4. Disclosure of Your Personal Information

TheTieXchange.com™ WILL NOT sell or rent any of your Personal Information (including the items you post) to third parties for their marketing purposes.

Under this Privacy Policy, TheTieXchange.com™ may disclose your Personal Information only as follows:

a) TheTieXchange.com™ retains third parties to use your credit or debit card information to verify the accuracy of your name, address, and other information, as well as to bill you for the exchanges you complete. (The only fee is one dollar per exchange, which cannot be charged to you unless and until you decide to complete an exchange.) These third parties are subject to appropriate confidentiality agreements that prohibit their use of your Personal Information for any other purpose.

b) Each time you agree to an exchange with another TheTieXchange.com™ user (a “Trading Partner”), TheTieXchange.com™ will disclose to your Trading Partner your name, mailing address and e-mail address so that your exchange may be completed. Your Trading Partner’s authorized use of this information (and your use of his or her information) is strictly limited, as set forth in the User Agreement.

c) In order to be able to evaluate you as a prospective trading partner, other users on the Site will be able to access, through your screen name only, the following aspects of your trading history: (1) each date on which you conducted an exchange; (2) the screen name of your trading partner in each such exchange; and (3) any comments or feedback left about you by your trading partners in connection with each such exchange. This information is not publicly linked to any of your personally identifiable information (such as your real name or e-mail address).

d) TheTieXchange.com™ may disclose your Personal Information in response to a verified request by law enforcement or other government officials relating to a criminal investigation or alleged illegal activity without a subpoena. TheTieXchange.com™ will not otherwise disclose your personal information to law enforcement or other government officials without a subpoena, court order or substantially similar legal procedure, except when TheTieXchange.com™ believes in good faith that the disclosure of such information is necessary to protect its rights, prevent imminent physical harm or financial loss, or to report suspected illegal activity.

5. Use of Personal Information You Give Us About Third Parties

From time to time TheTieXchange.com™ may also collect Personal Information from you about a third party (e.g. TheTieXchange.com™ allows you to enter a friend’s e-mail address to inform them about the Site). Unless and until the third party becomes a registered TheTieXchange.com™ user, TheTieXchange.com™ will not store this information and will use such information only for the specified purpose (e.g., to contact your friend once to tell them about TheTieXchange.com™) and for no other purpose.

6. Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on a user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. There are two kinds of cookies: session ID cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which remain on your hard drive for an extended period of time.

TheTieXchange.com™ does not use persistent cookies on the Site. TheTieXchange.com™ does use session cookies [to make it easier for you to navigate the Site.] TheTieXchange.com™ does not link the information stored in its session cookies to the Personal Information you submit while on the Site.

If you reject cookies, the site will not function properly during your visit.

7. Log Files

As is true of most web sites, TheTieXchange.com™ gathers certain “click stream” information automatically and stores it in log files. This information is not linked to individual users’ Personal Information. The click stream information includes: Internet protocol (IP) address, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, and date/time stamp. The Site uses this information to analyze trends, administer the site, track (on an anonymous basis) users’ movements around the site and to gather demographic information about its user base as a whole.

8. Children

Because children under 18 cannot enter into binding agreements to exchange, and out of a desire to protect the safety of children online, TheTieXchange.com™ requires its members to be 18 years of age or older. If you are under 18, you are not permitted to register on the Site or to provide us with any Personal Information. People under 18 may use the Site only in conjunction with their parent or legal guardian.

9. Your Use of Third Party Sites

The Site may contain links to other Internet sites owned by third parties. Your use of each of those sites is subject to the conditions, if any, that each of those sites has posted, including their respective privacy policies.

10. Security

We take reasonable procedural and technical precautions to keep your Personal Information secure, including the use of encryption, "firewalls," and Secure Socket Layers. All personally identifiable information is subject to restricted access intended to prevent unauthorized access, modification, or misuse.

You acknowledge that, although TheTieXchange.com™ uses industry standard practices to protect your privacy, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, and other users may misuse your Personal Information in contravention of our User Agreement and this Privacy Policy.

11. Control of Your Password You are responsible for all actions taken with your user name and password, including exchange fees. Therefore TheTieXchange.com™ recommends that you do not disclose your TheTieXchange.com™ password to any third parties. If your password has been compromised, you can change it by visiting the “My Account” page.

12. Accessing, Reviewing, and Changing Your Personal Information

You may review and update your registration information at any time by visiting the “My Account” page. Upon your written request to support@thetiexchange.com, we will remove your Personal Information from our active database within a reasonable period of time. However, we may retain some of your Personal Information in our archives to prevent fraud, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our User Agreement, and comply with legal requirements as is permitted by law.

13. Business Transitions

In the event TheTieXchange.com™ goes through a business transition such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or a sale of all or a portion of its assets, your Personal Information will likely be among the assets transferred. You will be notified via a notice on the Site’s home page for thirty (30) days of any such change in ownership or control of your Personal Information.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

TheTieXchange.com™ reserves the right to change or remove this Privacy Policy at our discretion. All amended terms shall automatically be effective after they are initially posted on the Site. We therefore encourage you to visit this area frequently to stay informed.

15. How to Contact Us

Please write to us at support@thetiexchange.com if you have any comments or questions about this Privacy Policy or to report any violations of the Privacy Policy. If you would like to contact the site for any other reason, please visit Contact Page or email memberservice@thetiexchange.com. The company’s physical mailing address is TheTieXchange.com™, P.O. Box 231255, New York, NY 10023

16. Verification of Your Privacy Protection

TheTieXchange.com™ is a licensee of the GEOTRUST & Authorize.net Privacy Program. GEOTRUST & Authorize.net is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build users’ trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. This privacy policy covers the site TheTieXchange.com.com™ Because this Web site wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by GEOTRUST & Authorize.net.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy, you should first contact the site administrators at support@thetiexchange.com.