Last Updated: December 17, 2025
1. Introduction
Sports Card Alerts ("we," "our," or "us") respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our service.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide
We collect information that you voluntarily provide when using our Service:
- Account Information: Email address, password (encrypted)
- Alert Preferences: Player names, years, sets, price ranges, grade preferences, and notification settings
- Communications: Messages you send us for support or feedback
2.2 Automatically Collected Information
When you use our Service, we automatically collect certain information:
- Usage Data: Pages viewed, features used, time spent on the Service
- Device Information: Browser type, operating system, IP address
- Log Data: Access times, error logs, and performance data
2.3 Information from Third Parties
We collect publicly available listing data from eBay through their official API, including:
- Card titles and descriptions
- Prices and listing dates
- Seller locations (country-level only)
- Listing status (active, sold, ended)
Note: We do not collect or store any personal information about eBay sellers or buyers.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the collected information for the following purposes:
3.1 Service Provision
- Create and manage your account
- Monitor eBay for cards matching your alerts
- Send email notifications when matches are found
- Provide price analytics and market data
- Display current listings and sales history
3.2 Service Improvement
- Analyze usage patterns to improve features
- Troubleshoot technical issues
- Develop new features and functionality
- Monitor and prevent fraud or abuse
3.3 Communications
- Send alert notifications via email
- Respond to your support requests
- Send important service updates
- Notify you of changes to our Terms or Privacy Policy
4. How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:
4.1 Service Providers
We work with third-party service providers who help us operate our Service:
- Email Service: SendGrid (for sending notification emails)
- Hosting: Our hosting provider (for storing data and running the Service)
- Analytics: Google Analytics (for understanding usage patterns)
These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the services they provide to us.
4.2 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to:
- Comply with legal obligations
- Protect our rights or property
- Prevent fraud or abuse
- Protect the safety of our users or the public
4.3 Business Transfers
If Sports Card Alerts is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
5. Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information:
- Encryption: Passwords are encrypted using industry-standard bcrypt hashing
- Secure Connections: All data transmission uses HTTPS encryption
- Access Controls: Limited employee access to personal data
- Regular Updates: We keep our systems updated with security patches
However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the Service. Specifically:
- Account Data: Retained while your account is active
- Alerts: Stored until you delete them
- Notification History: Retained for 90 days
- Listing Data: Historical data retained for analytics purposes
If you delete your account, we will delete your personal information within 30 days, except where we're required to retain it for legal compliance.
7. Your Privacy Rights
7.1 Access and Correction
You have the right to:
- Access your personal information
- Correct inaccurate data
- Update your alert preferences
- Change your email address or password
You can access and modify most of your information through your account dashboard.
7.2 Data Deletion
You can delete individual alerts at any time. To delete your entire account and all associated data, contact us at support@sportscardalerts.com.
7.3 Email Preferences
You can control notification frequency for each alert (instant, daily, weekly, or paused). However, we may still send you important service-related emails (e.g., security alerts, Terms changes).
7.4 Do Not Track
We do not currently respond to "Do Not Track" browser signals. However, we do not track your activities across third-party websites.
8. Cookies and Tracking
We use the following types of cookies:
- Essential Cookies: Required for login and basic functionality
- Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the Service (Google Analytics)
- reCAPTCHA: Google reCAPTCHA is used on our registration page to prevent spam
You can control cookies through your browser settings, but disabling essential cookies may affect your ability to use certain features.
9. Third-Party Links
Our Service contains links to eBay listings. When you click these links, you leave our Service and are subject to eBay's privacy policy. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of eBay or other third-party websites.
10. Children's Privacy
Sports Card Alerts is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately and we will delete such information.
11. International Users
Sports Card Alerts operates from the United States. If you are accessing the Service from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located.
12. California Privacy Rights
If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):
- Right to know what personal information we collect
- Right to know whether we sell or disclose your information (we don't)
- Right to access your personal information
- Right to delete your personal information
- Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@sportscardalerts.com.
13. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by:
- Posting the new Privacy Policy on this page
- Updating the "Last Updated" date
- Sending you an email notification
Your continued use of the Service after such changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.
14. Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
Email: support@sportscardalerts.com
We will respond to your inquiry within 30 days.
15. Data Processing Summary
For transparency, here's a summary of our data practices:
- What we collect: Email, alerts, usage data
- Why we collect it: To provide the Service and send notifications
- Who we share with: Only essential service providers (email, hosting)
- How long we keep it: While your account is active
- Your rights: Access, correct, delete your data
- How to contact us: support@sportscardalerts.com