Privacy Policy of Essential-Vitamins.com™

How your personal information is stored and used

Linda and I understand the concern most people have about safeguarding their personal information on the internet.  We share that concern, and conduct this business accordingly.  For you to do business with us requires a significant amount of trust, and we work hard to earn that trust.

Accordingly, we treat all information gathered through this website as we would my own.

From February 2002 through August 2007, we were proud to be a members of the Better Business Bureau Online.  As members in good standing, we were bound by a strict code of ethics — especially concerning what is done with your personal information.  But, beyond that, it has always been a matter of personal principle for us to treat you as we would want to be treated ourselves.

This means you can trust that:

  • we will ask you only for the information needed to fulfill the functions you have initiated with me.  If it was a request for information, we will ask only enough to answer your questions; if it was an order, we will ask only for what is needed to process your credit card and ship your order.  We prefer to have your email address, as well, but that is only so we can send you notification that your order is shipped or if some problem has occurred with your order (such as a backorder).  We do not send out unsolicited emails, such as product offers or (sadly) a newsletter.
  • We will strictly safeguard all information you give me.  This includes:
    • Online transactions conducted over secure servers, using Authorize.Net’s SSL encryption.
    • Website hosted on ICServ’s state-of-the-art servers, with full firewall protection.
    • All personal information gathered on the website is encrypted and stored off the server, and is password protected.  Most of it, I never see.
    • Our connection to ICServ is password and firewall protected, and the port is cloaked for added security.
    • Access to your information at our end is limited to us.  There are no hirelings — or a cleaning crew — able to rummage through the files.
  • We will never give out any information to third parties, except as required by law.  That means we will never sell your name and/or e-mail address to another business.  The information you give to us stays with us, except for shipping information given to suppliers, in order to drop-ship your order.

And so, while we have chosen to end our affiliation with the BBB Online (the membership fees grew to a level that we could no longer justify it), you can be assured of the same ethical business practices as before.

It’s our goal to offer you the best of service while guarding your right to privacy.

We thank you for your trust.