Using a credit card is safer than a check: If there is a problem with
any purchase, your credit card company will remove that purchase from your
statement. By law, they cannot hold you responsible for more than $50.00 of
unauthorized use of your card.
We use industry-standard secure transaction technology: Our online
store software is provided by Yahoo!, Inc., the leading Internet company.
Whenever you are on one of our catalog pages where your credit card information
is requested or displayed, you'll notice that the Internet address of the page
begins with "https." The "s" in the address means that our secure server has
asked your computer's Web browser software to encrypt all information with
super-secure, 128-bit encryption technology before transmitting it. This
encryption is performed using an industry-standard security protocol known as
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). SSL is a feature included in most modern Internet
browsers, including Firefox, Internet Explorer, and AOL. Information encrypted
with SSL is nearly impossible for unauthorized parties to decode. All major
Internet stores use this technology, and it has been approved by Discover, VISA,
Mastercard and American Express.
We take an extra major step for you: We pay almost $2,000 per year for
daily testing of our systems by
ScanAlert. That permits us to display the industry-leading "Hacker Safe"
seal.
This technology is the safest way to order: Because of the SSL
technology described above, and the extra steps described below, placing an
order on our secure system is much safer than any other method:
- Safer than a fax: Faxes aren't encrypted...your information could
be intercepted as it travels over the telephone line or, more likely, read by
an unauthorized person in the receiving office.
- Safer than placing a phone order: You don't have to give out your
credit card number to a phone clerk who who will enter it into some unknown
office computer system...or worse.
- Safer than a store: We do not keep printed records of your credit
card information. We don't even store your credit card data on our office
computers: it is stored only on the secure servers of industry leaders Yahoo!
and Verio. Only the president of our company has access to this information,
and then only for 30 days. Because of these extra steps, doing business with
us is considerably safer than with your local retail store or restaurant,
where printed credit card receipts may be lost, stolen, or simply discarded
with the trash.
Our $200 Security Guarantee
We will protect you against unauthorized charges on your credit card: for up
to 180 days following using your card in our online store. If unauthorized
charges appear on your credit card periodic statement at any time within 180 of
your last transaction with us, we'll cover any liability not covered or waived
by the credit card issuer and provide a US$200.00 reward for reporting the
violation to us, subject to the following terms and conditions:
- This credit card security guarantee applies only to purchases made with a
credit card issued, by a United States bank or other U.S. credit card issuing
authority, which was used to make a purchase in our store within the previous
180 days. (Sorry, but the guarantee does not apply to consumers using non-U.S.
issued credit cards because regulations vary between countries. It also does
not apply to credit cards which were used to make a purchase from us via fax
or phone.)
- This guarantee covers only that liability which is not waived by
your card issuer.
- In the event of unauthorized use of your credit card, you must report all
unauthorized charges to your card issuer no later than 45 days after the card
issuer mails the first card statement showing unauthorized charges. You must
follow the issuer's procedures, and cancel the card number; we will not be
liable for further unauthorized charges made on the same card number.
- When making a claim, you will be required to complete a short claim form
that includes an authorization for our credit card service provider to obtain
information or records concerning the claim. You must also provide us with (i)
a copy of the credit card statement that includes the unauthorized charges,
(ii) a statement from the card issuer showing a charge for your liability and
confirming that you were subject to fraudulent use of your credit card, and
(iii) copy of a filed police report.