This page explains what information this website handles, what it doesn't, and what happens when you follow a link from here to buy a card. It also covers something particular to a postcard site: the names, addresses and messages written on old cards, and what I do if you'd like one removed.
This site is run by me, Mike, as an individual. There's no company behind it, and no one else has access to it.
The short version
- There are no accounts, no sign-ups, no forms, and no shopping cart on this site.
- This site sets no cookies and uses no advertising or tracking scripts.
- Like nearly every website, the service that delivers these pages keeps basic technical logs for security and reliability.
- When you buy a card, you do it on eBay, and eBay's privacy policy covers that purchase.
- If an old postcard on this site shows your family's name or address and you'd like it hidden, ask, and I'll take care of it.
What this site collects
Nothing you type in
There is nowhere on this site to type personal information. You can't create an account, subscribe to anything, leave a comment or place an order here. Because of that, this site never receives your name, email address, postal address, phone number or payment details.
Technical information
This site is delivered by Cloudflare, a large web infrastructure company. When your browser requests a page, Cloudflare's systems process the technical details every request carries: your IP address, the page you asked for, the time, your browser type and operating system, and the address of the page that sent you (the "referrer"). This is how the internet works. Without an IP address, there would be nowhere to send the page.
Cloudflare uses this information to deliver the site quickly, to protect it from attacks and abuse, and to produce aggregate statistics, such as how many requests the site received. Cloudflare's handling of this data is described in its own privacy policy. I don't use this information to identify individual visitors, and I don't combine it with any other data.
Cookies
This site doesn't set cookies, and it doesn't use similar technologies such as local storage to remember you. Cloudflare's security systems may, in rare cases, set a strictly necessary security cookie to tell real visitors apart from automated attacks. That cookie isn't used for advertising or for tracking you across sites.
Analytics
This site doesn't currently run a visitor analytics service. If I add one, it will be a privacy-friendly service that doesn't use cookies or build profiles of visitors, and this page will be updated first to name it and explain what it measures.
Advertising
There's no advertising on this site, and no advertising networks, social media pixels or retargeting scripts. Nothing on this site tells Facebook, Google or anyone else which pages you looked at.
Fonts and images
The fonts and images on this site are served from the site itself, not from outside font or image services. Loading a page doesn't send your information to a third party in the background.
When you buy a card
This site doesn't sell anything directly. Each card's page has a link to its listing in my eBay store, and when you follow that link you leave this site.
On eBay, eBay's privacy policy applies. Your account, your searches, your payment details and your shipping address are handled by eBay under its own policies. I never see your payment details.
What I receive as a seller. When you buy from me, eBay shares what a seller needs to fill the order: your name, your shipping address, the item you bought, and any message you send. I use that information only to pack and ship your order, to answer your questions, and to handle any problem with the order. I don't add buyers to mailing lists, I don't sell or share buyer information, and I don't use it for marketing.
Messages. If you message me through eBay about a card, I'll use your message only to answer you.
Records. I keep basic records of sales, as any seller must for bookkeeping and taxes. Those records stay with me.
Links to other sites
Some pages link to other websites, such as my eBay store. Those sites have their own privacy practices, which I don't control. Check the privacy policy of any site you visit from here before giving it personal information.
Names and messages on old postcards
Old postcards were mailed by real people to real people. The back of a card can carry a name, a street address, a town, and a private message written a century ago. Showing both sides is part of describing a card honestly, and the messages are often the most interesting part of its history, so I scan the backs and, where I can read them, transcribe the messages.
Nearly all of the cards I handle are many decades old, and the people who wrote and received them are long gone. Still, I know that a card can mean something to a family today. My policy is simple:
- If a card on this site shows your family's name, address or message and you'd prefer it not be public, ask, and I'll hide the transcription and blur the address on the scan, or remove the card's page altogether if you prefer. You don't need to explain why.
- For any card that seems recent, where the people named could still be living, I don't transcribe the message, and I blur names and addresses on the scans. That is rare among the cards I handle, since nearly everything I sell is from the first half of the twentieth century.
- If you're a descendant of someone named on a card, you're very welcome to get in touch. If the card is still for sale, I'm happy to tell you about it, and if it has already sold, its page here keeps the scans and transcription as part of the archive, unless you'd like it removed.
To make a request, message me through my eBay store, mention the card's item number (the box-and-slot code shown on its page) or its web address, and tell me what you'd like done. I'll take care of it promptly.
How long information is kept
This site itself stores nothing about visitors, so there's nothing here to keep or delete. The technical logs handled by Cloudflare are kept for limited periods under Cloudflare's own retention practices, mainly for security and troubleshooting. Order information I receive from eBay is kept only as long as I need it to fill and support the order, and as long as the law requires for bookkeeping and tax records.
Where information is processed
I'm based in the United States, and this site is operated from the United States. Cloudflare runs a global network, so a page you request may be delivered from a data center near you, in whatever country that is. eBay processes order information under its own policies, which explain where and how it is handled.
Browser privacy signals
Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" or "Global Privacy Control" signal to say you don't want to be tracked. This site doesn't track visitors in the first place, so it treats every visitor the way those signals ask, whether or not your browser sends one.
Messages you send me
If you message me through eBay, your message reaches me through eBay's messaging system. I read it, answer it, and keep it only as long as it's useful for your order or question. I never forward your messages to anyone else, and I never publish them.
Using images from this site
Visitors are welcome to look at, zoom into and print the scans on this site for personal research, such as family history. Viewing or saving an image doesn't send any information about you to me.
What I will never do
To put the rest of this page another way: I will never sell, rent or trade information about visitors or buyers, never send marketing email to buyers who didn't ask for it, and never add hidden tracking to this site. If the site ever changes in a way that touches your information, you'll read about it here first.
Children
This site is a general-interest catalog. It doesn't collect information from anyone, including children, and it isn't directed at children under 13.
Your choices and rights
Because this site doesn't collect personal information about you, there is generally nothing here for me to give you, correct or delete. Depending on where you live, privacy laws may give you rights over personal information that businesses hold about you. If you've bought from me on eBay and want to know what order information I hold, or want it deleted where the law allows, message me through eBay and I'll help. Some records, such as sales records needed for taxes, I'm required to keep for a period of time.
For the technical logs handled by Cloudflare and for your eBay account, contact those companies directly or use the privacy tools they provide.
Security
This site is a static website. It has no database of visitor information, no login, and no forms that could leak what you type. Every page is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection. The few technical logs that exist are held by Cloudflare under its own security practices.
Changes to this page
If anything about how this site handles information changes, for example if I add analytics or a way to contact me directly from the site, I'll update this page first and change the date at the top. The goal will always be the same: collect as little as possible, and say plainly what and why.
Questions
If you have a question about this page or about how I handle information, message me through my eBay store. I'm one person, so you'll hear back from me directly.