Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Personal Information You Provide

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide, including:

• Full legal name
• Mailing address
• Email address
• Telephone number
• Date of birth (where required for age or identity verification)
• Government-issued identification (driver's license or state ID photo, required at offer acceptance)
• Electronic signature (typed name combined with timestamp, IP address, and device user agent)
• Payment account identifiers (Zelle phone or email, Venmo username, PayPal email address, Cash App tag, ACH or wire routing and account numbers, or mailing address for check delivery)

1.2 Transaction Information

We collect information generated during the course of doing business with you, including:

• Description, weight, and karat of items submitted
• Photographic documentation of received packages (exterior appearance) and contents (items spread out for evaluation)
• Shipping carrier tracking data and delivery confirmations
• Offer amounts, acceptance and decline decisions
• Reasons for offer decline (if provided)
• Payment records, confirmation numbers, and timing data
• All communications with our team (email, SMS, phone notes)

1.3 Automatically Collected Information

When you interact with our website or offer pages, we may automatically collect:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address
• Browser type, version, and language settings
• Device identifiers and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Date and time of access
• Referring website or marketing source
• Marketing attribution identifiers (e.g., Meta Pixel ID, Google Click ID)
• Cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies

1.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not knowingly collect biometric identifiers, biometric information, or biometric data as defined under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14) or similar state laws. We do not use facial recognition, fingerprint scanning, voice recognition, retinal or iris scans, or hand or facial geometry processing.

The collection of government-issued identification photos is solely for the purpose of identity verification through human visual review. We do not extract biometric identifiers from these photos, do not perform automated facial recognition on these photos, and do not store these photos for any purpose other than transaction verification and legal compliance.

2. How We Use Information

We use collected information solely for legitimate business purposes, including:

• Evaluating items submitted for purchase
• Issuing purchase offers
• Processing and delivering payments
• Verifying identity and preventing fraud
• Complying with federal and state laws, including precious metals dealer regulations, anti-money laundering laws, and Internal Revenue Service reporting requirements
• Maintaining required transaction records
• Responding to customer inquiries
• Sending transactional and follow-up communications related to active or recent transactions
• Improving our website, services, and customer experience
• Analyzing aggregate data to inform business decisions
• Resolving disputes and enforcing our agreements

3. What We Do Not Do With Your Information

We affirmatively state:

• We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties for monetary or other valuable consideration.
• We do not share your information with data brokers.
• We do not use your information for targeted advertising on third-party platforms beyond aggregate marketing attribution.
• We do not share your contact information with affiliates or partners for their independent marketing purposes.

4. Legal Compliance and Identity Verification

As a precious metals purchaser, we are required to collect and retain certain identifying information under applicable state and federal laws.

We may:

• Verify your identity using the government-issued ID you submit
• Maintain transaction records for the period required by law
• Report suspicious activity to law enforcement or regulatory authorities as required by law
• Request additional documentation before completing any transaction
• Disclose information without notice or consent when compelled by valid legal process, including subpoenas, court orders, and government investigations

Failure to provide required information will result in cancellation of the transaction.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

We share necessary information with the following categories of service providers solely to perform their services on our behalf:

• Shipping carriers (FedEx, USPS) for delivery of kits and customer items
• Shipping label generation (Shippo) for prepaid return labels
• Email delivery (Resend) for transactional emails
• SMS delivery (Twilio) for transactional text messages
• Database and storage infrastructure (Supabase) for secure data storage
• Address validation (Google Places API) for verifying customer-provided addresses
• Web hosting and computing infrastructure

These service providers receive only the information necessary to perform their specific services and are contractually obligated to use information only for those purposes and to maintain reasonable security safeguards.

We do not transmit your payment account credentials (Zelle phone, Venmo username, etc.) to any third party. Payments are initiated by us directly using these credentials.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices, security, or content of third-party services beyond our contractual relationships with our service providers.

6. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential website functionality
• Analytics to understand how visitors use our website
• Marketing attribution to measure advertising effectiveness
• User experience improvement

You may disable cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may impair some website features.

We honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where required by law.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal and transaction information as follows:

• Transaction records (including identification photos, signatures, payment details, and item descriptions): retained for a minimum of seven (7) years from the date of transaction, as required by Internal Revenue Service regulations and Illinois precious metals dealer record-keeping requirements
• Package documentation photographs: retained for three (3) years from the transaction date for dispute resolution
• Customer communications: retained for three (3) years
• Marketing and inactive lead records: retained for up to three (3) years from last interaction

Retention periods may extend beyond these timeframes where:

• Legally required
• Necessary to resolve ongoing disputes or claims
• Required to enforce our agreements
• A legal hold has been placed on the records

Upon expiration of retention periods, we will securely delete or anonymize the data, except where ongoing legal obligations require continued retention.

8. Data Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information, including:

• Encrypted transmission of data using industry-standard protocols (HTTPS/TLS)
• Encrypted storage of sensitive data at rest
• Access controls limiting employee and contractor access to personal information on a need-to-know basis
• Private storage for identification documents (stored in non-public storage requiring authenticated access)
• Regular review of security practices

DESPITE THESE SAFEGUARDS, WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ABSOLUTE SECURITY OF ANY INFORMATION TRANSMITTED OR STORED. ALL DATA TRANSMISSION OVER THE INTERNET INVOLVES INHERENT RISKS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU PROVIDE INFORMATION AT YOUR OWN RISK.

9. Communications

9.1 Transactional Communications

By submitting a kit request, providing your contact information, or using our services, you expressly consent to receive transactional emails and SMS messages from us relating to your order, including:

• Kit shipping notifications
• Package receipt confirmations
• Offer notifications and reminders
• Payment confirmations
• Status updates and follow-up reminders
• Review and feedback requests

9.2 Communication Frequency and Rates

Communication frequency varies by transaction stage but typically does not exceed two messages per week. Total expected volume over a typical customer lifecycle is five to ten messages.

Message and data rates from your wireless carrier may apply to SMS messages.

9.3 Opt-Out

You may opt out of marketing and follow-up communications at any time:

• SMS: reply STOP to any text message
• Email: click "unsubscribe" or contact us at (630) 593-3510

Opting out does not affect essential transactional messages required to complete an active transaction (such as payment confirmations or shipment notifications for items currently in transit).

10. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residence, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including:

• The right to know what personal information we collect
• The right to access your personal information
• The right to request correction of inaccurate information
• The right to request deletion (subject to legal retention requirements)
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information (which we do not engage in)
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights

These rights are extended to all customers regardless of state of residence, subject to applicable law.

To exercise these rights, contact us by phone at (630) 593-3510. We will respond within forty-five (45) days, or sooner where required by applicable law.

We may require verification of your identity before fulfilling certain requests to prevent fraudulent access to personal information.

11. Legal Disclosure Exceptions

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Privacy Policy, we may disclose personal information without notice or consent when required:

• By valid subpoena, court order, search warrant, or other legal process
• To comply with applicable laws or regulations
• To respond to lawful government or law enforcement inquiries
• To protect our legal rights or defend against legal claims
• To investigate or prevent suspected fraud, theft, or illegal activity
• To protect the safety of persons or property
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of business assets (with subsequent notice to customers)

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended only for individuals 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from individuals under 18. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, we will delete it promptly. If you believe we have collected information from a minor, contact us at (630) 593-3510.

13. Limitation of Liability for Privacy-Related Claims

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY, INCLUDING ANY CLAIMS RELATED TO DATA COLLECTION, USE, DISCLOSURE, STORAGE, OR SECURITY, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF:

• (A) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100), OR
• (B) THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF YOUR MOST RECENT TRANSACTION WITH MAILGOLDONLINE.

WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON CERTAIN DAMAGES. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

14. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver

14.1 Mandatory Arbitration

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Privacy Policy, our collection, use, or disclosure of your information, or any alleged violation of privacy law (including but not limited to claims under state or federal privacy laws, biometric privacy laws, consumer protection laws, common law privacy torts, and any other privacy-related claims), shall be resolved through final, binding, individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules.

The arbitration shall take place in Kane County, Illinois, or via remote proceedings at the arbitrator's discretion.

The arbitrator shall apply Illinois law to all claims, regardless of your state of residence.

The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

14.2 Class Action Waiver

YOU AND MAILGOLDONLINE AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEEDINGS WILL BE CONDUCTED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION.

YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO:

• PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE LAWSUIT
• BRING CLAIMS ON BEHALF OF A CLASS
• COMBINE OR CONSOLIDATE YOUR CLAIMS WITH ANYONE ELSE'S CLAIMS
• A JURY TRIAL

If a court finds the class action waiver unenforceable, the entire arbitration provision shall be void, and the parties agree to resolve disputes in Illinois state or federal court located in Kane County, Illinois, with the class action waiver remaining enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by law.

14.3 Opt-Out Right

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to:

The opt-out notice must be postmarked within thirty (30) days of the date you first agreed to this Privacy Policy. The notice must include your full name, mailing address, email address used with MailGoldOnline, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of the arbitration agreement. Opting out of arbitration does not affect any other terms of this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Service.

14.4 Exceptions

Notwithstanding the above, either party may bring an individual action in small claims court in Illinois for claims within the jurisdictional limits of that court.

Either party may seek injunctive or equitable relief in court to prevent actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights or unauthorized access to or use of our services.

15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Privacy Policy and any claims arising out of or relating to it shall be governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of law principles, regardless of the customer's state of residence.

For any matter not subject to arbitration, the exclusive jurisdiction and venue shall be the state and federal courts located in Kane County, Illinois. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of these courts.

16. No Private Right of Action for Policy Violations

Except for violations of binding legal obligations under applicable privacy laws, this Privacy Policy does not create any private right of action by you or any third party. Only applicable regulatory authorities may enforce alleged violations of this Privacy Policy except where private right of action is expressly granted by statute.

17. Severability

If any provision of this Privacy Policy is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if that is not possible, severed from this Privacy Policy. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

The class action waiver in Section 14.2 is non-severable; if found unenforceable, see Section 14.2 for the consequence.

18. Survival

The following provisions survive any termination or cancellation of your relationship with MailGoldOnline:

• Section 7 (Data Retention)
• Section 11 (Legal Disclosure Exceptions)
• Section 13 (Limitation of Liability)
• Section 14 (Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver)
• Section 15 (Governing Law)
• Section 17 (Severability)
• Section 18 (Survival)

19. No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any right or provision of this Privacy Policy shall not be deemed a waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver must be in writing and signed by an authorized representative of MailGoldOnline.

20. Entire Agreement

This Privacy Policy, together with our Terms of Service, constitutes the entire agreement between you and MailGoldOnline regarding the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of your information, superseding any prior agreements or understandings on the subject.

21. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Updated versions will be posted with a revised Effective Date.

Material changes will be communicated to active customers via email when reasonably possible.

Continued use of our website or services after any change constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to changes, you must discontinue use of our services.

22. Contact Information

For privacy questions, data requests, exercise of rights, or to opt out of arbitration:

For arbitration opt-out, see Section 14.3 above.