Privacy Policy

1.Introduction

Own the Box Marketing LLC ("OTB," "we," "us") is a Rhode Island company that publishes shared-mail postcards for local businesses. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through rhodyshowcase.com, how we use it, and the rights you have. We keep this short and honest because we believe small-business owners should be able to read a privacy policy without a lawyer.

Questions? Email info@rhodyshowcase.com or call (401) 422-3568.

2.Information We Collect

Information you give us directly

When you fill out a form on our site or sign up to advertise, we may collect:

• Your name, email address, phone number, and business name.
• The category or industry your business is in.
• Your preferred slot size and edition.
• The offer, promotional copy, or artwork you submit for your ad.
• Whether you want to be waitlisted for an adjacent-area edition of The Rhody Showcase if your first choice is full.
• Your explicit consent, or lack of consent, to receive marketing emails or text messages.

Information collected automatically

We do not currently run website analytics. There is no Google Analytics and no third-party tracking script on this site today, and we do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Our host keeps standard server logs for security and troubleshooting, which record aggregate numbers like how many people visited a page and which country they came from. We do not know who you are from the analytics data.

Cookies, and our right to use them later

We reserve the right to use cookies and similar technologies in the future. If and when we do, they will fall into these groups: cookies that are strictly necessary for the site to work, cookies that measure how the site is used so we can improve it, cookies that remember your preferences, and, if we ever advertise, cookies that measure whether an ad led to an enquiry.

We will not start using cookies quietly. Before any non-essential cookie is set we will update this policy, change the "Last updated" date at the top, and show a consent notice that lets you accept or decline. Strictly necessary cookies do not require your consent, and we will not sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioural advertising.

3.How We Use Information

• To respond to your inquiry, sale, or refund request.
• To fulfill your advertising order: design, proof, print, and mail drop.
• To send you newsletters or updates, only if you opted in.
• To improve the website and understand which pages are useful.
• To comply with legal and tax obligations.

We never sell your personal data. We never rent it. We do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.

4.Marketing Communications

• Email newsletters and updates. We only send marketing email to people who have opted in. Every email has a clear one-click unsubscribe link. If you ask to be removed, we remove you.
• Text messages. We send SMS messages only to phone numbers where you have given explicit written consent (TCPA compliance). Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to unsubscribe, or reply HELP for help. We will never sell or share your phone number with third parties for marketing purposes.
• Transactional messages. Order confirmations, proof approvals, mail-drop notifications, and receipts are operational communications tied to your order and are not marketing.

5.Third-Party Services We Use

We use a small set of trusted vendors to run the business. These vendors have their own privacy practices:

• Stripe (payments). Your credit card information is sent directly to Stripe. OTB never sees or stores your full card number. Stripe Privacy Policy.
• Netlify (website hosting and form handling). Form submissions are routed through Netlify to our inbox. Netlify Privacy Policy.
• United States Postal Service (mail delivery). Because we mail via EDDM, USPS receives the mailing route (not individual resident names from us). USPS Privacy Policy.
• Our printer partner. Our printer receives the finished ad files (including any copy or images you submitted) and the address route information needed to produce and ship the cards. They handle this data only to print your job.

6.Cookies

The site does not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or any cross-site tracking. If technical cookies are ever used (for example, to keep a form session alive), they are limited to first-party functional use and are not shared with anyone.

7.Data Retention

• Advertiser records (orders, invoices, approved proofs): retained for 7 years, as required for federal and state tax and business records.
• Newsletter and marketing email opt-ins: retained until you unsubscribe.
• Form-only inquiries (people who asked a question but never became a customer): retained for up to 2 years, then deleted.
• Analytics data: none collected, so there is nothing to retain.

8.Your Rights

No matter where you live, you can email info@rhodyshowcase.com to ask us to:

• Tell you what personal information we have about you.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete your information (subject to legal record-keeping requirements in Section 7).
• Stop sending you marketing messages.

California residents (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to request deletion, the right to correct inaccurate information, and the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of, but we will confirm that in writing if you ask.

Rhode Island residents

Under the Rhode Island Data Transparency and Privacy Protection Act, Rhode Island residents may ask us what categories of personal information we collect and with whom we share it. The categories are listed in Section 2, and the third parties are listed in Section 5. You may contact us at info@rhodyshowcase.com to exercise these rights.

European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have rights under the GDPR, including the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your personal data, and the right to object to processing. Our lawful bases for processing are: your consent (marketing messages), the performance of a contract (fulfilling your ad order), and our legitimate interest in running a small publishing business. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

9.Children

This is a business-to-business service. The site is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has submitted information to us, email info@rhodyshowcase.com and we will delete it.

10.Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your information:

• The website runs over HTTPS so data is encrypted in transit.
• Payment information is handled by Stripe, which is PCI-DSS compliant. OTB never stores card numbers.
• Access to customer records is limited to Steve Johnson and authorized vendors who need it to run the business.

No system is 100 percent secure. If we ever experience a data incident that affects you, we will notify you as required by law.

11.Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the "Last updated" date at the top of the page. Continued use of the site after the updated date means you accept the revised policy. For a material change that affects how we use your personal information, we will also try to notify active customers by email.

12.Contact Us About Privacy

Real humans read this inbox. If your message is about a privacy request, put the word Privacy in the subject line and we will route it correctly.