Privacy

When you place an order, the part of the order relevant to each supplier is sent to that supplier. The suppliers are not aware of your comments, or what you ordered from other suppliers.

There are two types of data:

  1. The Order - This is stored in the shopping basket
  2. Your Details - This is normally stored in an encrypted manner in a secure way, if you support cookies, otherwise it is included (lightly scrambled) in the basket. The basket remains on the server for a few hours after the order is finished.
Your customer details are normally stored on the site, but in an encrypted way that is unreadable without the key which is embedded within the customer identity cookie (see below).

The shopping basket does not normally contain any details about the customer. It's only with the order that the relationship between customer and basket is actually made.

Files

Shopping Baskets These are used in a cyclic manner by the shop to store orders. The orders are in plain text, customer information if stored is lightly scrambled. Once an order is finished, the basket is moved to a more secure area, with heavier encryption and security.

Customer Data Name, Address etc. This is stored in an encrypted manner with the key embedded in a cookie. Ie without the cookie (which is yours) this information is completely secure.

Cookies

The online shop will try and use "cookies" - this allows the system to continue an order in progress should you leave this site (eg to look at a review or the publishers web site) and then return. It also means that the system remembers the currency you want to deal in and your contact details - therefore less form filling is needed.

If you don't accept cookies, the ordering process will be unaffected, unless you leave the site and return part way through making an order. Then the first part of the order may be lost. This is entirely your choice - but if cookies are used properly (as in this case) there should not be any privacy issues.

Last changed 02nd of November 2002