The
Big Lots website (the “Site”) and the Buzz ClubTM are brought to you
by Big Lots (“we” or “us). Our Privacy
Policy was developed as an extension of our commitment to the highest level of
integrity in dealing with our customers. The Privacy Policy is designed to
assist you in understanding how we collect, use, disclose and safeguard the
personal information you provide to us when you use the Site or join the Buzz
ClubTM. By using the Site or
joining the Buzz ClubTM, you agree to the collection, use and
disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy
Policy. If you do not agree to the terms
of this policy, do not use the Site or join the Buzz ClubTM.
Collection
of Personal Information. We only collect
personal information from you when you provide it to us. For example, we collect personal information
from you when you: (1) sign up to
receive our emails; (2) join the Buzz ClubTM; (3) participate in one
of our Site’s interactive features, including those that invite you to submit
an idea to us; (4) participate in a sweepstakes or contest; or (5) contact us
for any reason. The information we
collect may include your name, email address, mailing address, telephone number,
as well as the contents of your communications with us. We may combine the information we collect from
you with information we receive from you offline, as well as with information
we receive about you from other sources, such as address update services.
If
you use any of the Site’s tell-a-friend features, we ask for your friend’s
email address. We use this information
only to send the communication you requested and to monitor the effectiveness
of our tell-a-friend features.
Collection
of Non-Personal Information. Similar to other
commercial websites, we and our service providers utilize “cookies” and web
server logs to collect information about how the Site is used. Cookies are small pieces of data that are
stored by your browser on your hard drive.
Information gathered through cookies and web server logs may include
your browser type, operating system, IP address, the date and time of visits,
the pages and products viewed, time spent at the Site, the websites visited
just before and after the Site and other clickstream information. None of this information is associated with
you as an individual. We use this
information to: (1) conduct research, in
order to improve the Site, our products and services and to better serve our
customers; (2) provide you with customized content and advertising; and (3)
monitor Site usage.
We
and our service providers may also use web beacons on the Site and in our
emails. Web beacons are tiny graphic
images that are used to collect information about your Site visit, such as the
pages you view and the features you use, as well as information about whether
you open and/or act upon one of our emails.
Web beacons help us analyze our Site visitors’ behavior and measure the
effectiveness of the Site and our email campaigns.
Protecting
Your Email Address, Log-In Information and Password.
It is solely your responsibility to maintain the privacy of your email address,
log-in information and password. Your failure
to do so may result in unauthorized access to your personal information. Please
keep your email address, log-in information and password in a safe place. We
have no liability to you for a stolen or misappropriated email address, log-in
information or password.
How
Do We Use the Information That You Provide to Us?
We use the information we collect from and about you for the following purposes: (1) to fulfill your requests for services,
features and information; (2) to provide you with targeted offers and
advertising on the Site; (3) to contact you with information and promotional
materials and offers; (4) to contact you when necessary; (5) to review Site
usage and operations; (6) to administer the Buzz ClubTM; (7) to
address problems with the Site, our business or our products and services; and
(8) to protect the security or integrity of the Site and our business. If you would prefer to no longer receive
commercial emails from us, you may follow the opt-out instructions contained in
the email or by emailing us at talk2us@biglots.com. If you are a Buzz ClubTM member,
you may also go to www.biglots.com/unsubscribe/ to revise your marketing
preferences.
Third
Parties’ Products, Services and Websites: The Site may include third-party advertising
and links to third-party websites. Such
third parties may have privacy policies and user agreements that differ from
our own, and we are not responsible for their activities and practices. Accordingly, we recommend that you review the
privacy policy and user agreement posted on any site that you may access
through the Site.
Sharing
Information with Strategic Partners and Affiliated Parties:
We may enter into strategic marketing alliances and web development alliances
where a third party may be given access to the information we have collected
from and about you, for the purpose of providing you information regarding
products and services.
Do
We Disclose Information to Outside Parties (not already discussed above)?
We may also disclose information
collected from and about you as follows:
(1) to our service providers, if the disclosure will enable them to
perform a business, professional or technical support function for us; (2) as
necessary, if we believe that there has been a violation of our User Agreement
or of our rights or the rights of any third party; (3) to respond to judicial
process and provide information to law enforcement agencies or in connection
with an investigation on matters related to public safety, as permitted by law,
or otherwise as required by law; and (4) if Big Lots or substantially all of
its assets are acquired, your personal information may be one of the
transferred assets. In addition, we may
provide aggregate, non-personally identifiable information to third parties for
research and other purposes.
Are
Information Transmissions Secured? We use encryption
technology on our Buzz ClubTM join, login and account management
pages.
How
Do We Protect Your Information? Our corporate values,
ethical standards, policies and practices are committed to the protection of
customer information. Accordingly, we
have taken certain physical, electronic, contractual and managerial steps to
safeguard the personal information we collect from Site visitors and Buzz ClubTM
members.
How
Can You Access and Correct Your Information? To update or
correct your personal information, email us at talk2us@biglots.com. If you are a Buzz ClubTM member,
you can also update your contact information by visiting “My Account” on
biglots.com.
Your
California Privacy Rights:
If
you are a California
resident, once a year, you may request certain information about our disclosure,
during the preceding calendar year, of personal information to third parties
for those parties’ own direct marketing purposes. Please send your request to:
Big
Lots
Attn: Customer Care
300
Phillipi Road
Columbus,
OH 43228-5311
Changes
to This Privacy Policy: We may change this policy from
time to time. When we do, we will post
those changes on the Site. If we change
the policy in a material way, we will provide appropriate online notice to you.
Children: We do not direct the Site to, nor do we
knowingly collect any personal information from, children under the age of
thirteen.
Contact
Us: If you have questions or concerns about this
Privacy Policy, contact us at talk2us@biglots.com.
Effective
Date:
June 30, 2008.