We appreciate your trust in us and know you are concerned about the security of your private information on the web.  We've all heard the horror stories.  The internet provides a tremendous opportunity for vendors and a great convenience for shoppers.  With these rewards there are risks on both sides of the transaction.  We ask you to register for a number of reasons. 

First, the shopping cart program we use requires some basic information to process your order.  You'd rightly think this would include your name and address.  We need to know who you are and where to ship orders and to process your credit card.  We need your email to send notifications of the various stages in the order process.  We would like your phone number in case we need to contact you to clarify your order or notify you of any other problems.  When you type your information into our website it is on a secure web page (note the "https" in your browser address bar).  The information is then transmitted from you to us in an encryped format (secret code).  This is more secure than sending your information by email.

Second, the cart program provides some conveniences for you when you register.  You can come back and review past orders, and you can add items to a wish list for later purchase.

Third, as you've heard stories of customers being scammed or cheated, we have also been subject to individuals with various schemes to have us ship products without paying for them.  All of our contact information is here on the website so you can see who you are dealing with.  We ask that our customers provide similar identifying information.

What information do we retain in our website database?

We retain your basic identifying information and information regarding your order (items, quantity, shipping costs, comments you write).  We do not retain any of your credit card information.  Your credit card information is passed directly to our processor and is not ever held in our website.  They process your credit card through your bank and notify us of the success or failure of the transaction. They retain your credit card numbers on their secure servers for 90 days then delete them.  If we have to make a refund within the 90 days, we log onto the processor website, select your purchase transaction, and process a refund toward that transaction.

What if you are still uncomfortable with our process?  What else is available?

We do accept phone orders to take your information.  However, we have to process all orders through our website to keep our inventory.  We will create an account for you, including login ID and password.  If you want to pay by credit card (this is still your best protection), we will enter that also.  If you want to pay by check, you can mail one to us for the full amount and we will wait until it clears your bank before shipping the products.

If you are a commercial customer and will be ordering often, there are other options available.  Please contact us by email or phone to discuss them.  Also, please contact us if you have any other questions.