Personally Identifiable Information. Personally identifiable information is information that identifies you as an individual, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, credit card information and password ("Personally Identifiable Information"). We may collect Personally Identifiable Information from you when you (a) make a purchase from one of our members' shops, (b) register to become a member, (c) voluntarily provide it when you use the Site, (d) disclose it in a public area of the Site (such as a shopkeeper bio, message board or chat room) or (e) provide it when you communicate with us.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information. Non-personally identifiable information is information that does not identify you as an individual ("Non-Personally Identifiable Information"). Non-Personally Identifiable Information includes information such as your browser type, the URL of the previous Web site you visited, the Web pages and advertisements you view or select, and the types of services you use. Non-Personally Identifiable Information also includes "Aggregate Information," which is described below in the section titled "How Do We Use Non-Personally Identifiable Information?" We may automatically collect certain types of Non-Personally Identifiable Information from you when you use the Site. We may also collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information from you that you voluntarily provide (such as information included in response to a questionnaire or survey) or post to a public area of the Site (such as a message board or chat room).

Cookies. A cookie is a message that is sent to your browser from a Web server and stored on your computer's hard drive. Our cookies contain Personally Identifiable Information, such as your email address. We may use cookies to (a) store your password if you're one of our members, so you don't have to enter it each time you log on and (b) keep track of which shopping cart belongs to you when you shop at one of our member's shops. We use cookies only for the operation of our Site.

IP Address. An IP address is a number that is assigned to your computer automatically when you use the Internet. We may collect IP addresses for the purposes of systems administration, server problem diagnosis and to compile aggregate information (such as how many visitors logged on to the Site). When you visit a particular Web page on the Site, our servers log your IP address. Your IP address is not linked to your Personally Identifiable Information.

Pixels. Pixels, also called clear GIFs, are invisible files on Web pages that you visit. If you visit a page on the Site that contains a Pixel, the Pixel communicates with your computer to determine, among other things, whether you have been to that page before or viewed a particular advertisement. We may use Pixels to serve advertising, enhance email advertising and track usage of the Site.

Personally Identifiable Information. In general, we will not disclose your Personally Identifiable Information to third parties without your permission.

We may also use the Personally Identifiable Information you provide to (a) administer and manage your account, (b) pay commissions to you, (c) include you on mailing lists and (d) advertise and promote our services. In addition, we may disclose your Personally Identifiable Information when we believe in good faith that it is required by any applicable law or legal process, or if we believe we need to disclose it to protect or enforce our rights or the rights of our members, users, or other third parties. Without limitation of the foregoing, we may disclose your information pursuant to our Intellectual Property Rights Policy to a third party that alleges you have infringed their intellectual property rights.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information. We may disclose Non-Personally Identifiable Information in connection with improving the services we offer and facilitating our marketing efforts. In addition, we may combine your Non-Personally Identifiable Information that relates to your use of the Site with that of other users ("Aggregate Information") to determine which areas of the Site are most popular, and how our services are used. We may disclose Aggregate Information in connection with improving the services we offer and facilitating our marketing efforts.

Third Parties. We do not control the privacy policies of our advertisers or other third parties that have Web sites linked to the Site. If you click on an advertisement or link, the privacy policies of the Web site that you link to will govern the use of your information by that Web site's operator. We assume no responsibility or liability for the actions of such third parties with respect to their use of your information or otherwise.

Disclosure Of Information In Public Areas. If you voluntarily disclose information in a public area of the Site, such as a chat room or message board, that information may be collected and used by a third party to send you unsolicited messages, advertisements or for other purposes. We do not control the actions of these third parties in public areas of the Site, so if you disclose information in a public area, you do so at your own risk.

No Absolute Safeguards. Although we will use reasonable efforts to safeguard the privacy of your information, transmissions on the Internet cannot be made absolutely secure. Accordingly, we assume no responsibility or liability for disclosure of any of your information due to errors in transmission, unauthorized third-party access or other causes beyond our reasonable control.

We feel strongly about protecting the privacy of children. We encourage children to involve their parents in any interactive activity they participate in online. We will not knowingly collect or use any personal information from children we know to be under the age of thirteen. In addition, once we are notified we will delete any information in our databases that originates from a child under the age of thirteen.

Receiving Communications And Opting Out.  If you are already registered, you can  "opt out" from receiving communications by emailing us at privacy@selfhelpcenters.com.

Please remember that protection of your privacy begins with you. You are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any password you use to register, and you should always be careful and responsible whenever disclosing information online.

If you use the Site, you are accepting the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, and we will have the right to use your information as described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to have your information used in any of the ways described in this Privacy Policy, you must discontinue use of the Site. We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. Your continued use of the Site after we either personally notify you or generally post such changes on the site will constitute your acceptance of those changes. If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email us at privacy@selfhelpcenters.com.

Our Business:
Self Help Centers. Inc. was founded to capitalize on the opportunity for on-line Self Help Audio, Video and Book retailing. The Company believes that the Self Help industry is particularly suited to on-line retailing for many compelling reasons. Self Help Centers.com has virtually unlimited on-line shelf space and can offer customers a vast selection through an efficient search and retrieval interface. By Selling streaming versions of Audio and Video programs and electronic versions of Books, Self Help can offer an extraordinary number of different items. This extraordinary amount of programs available precludes even the largest physical bookstore from economically stocking more than a small minority of available titles. In addition, by serving a large and global market through on-line Streaming distribution, Self Help Centers.com can realize significant structural cost advantages relative to traditional booksellers. 

Self Help Centers’ streaming on demand audio and video sales also allows consumers instant access to programs of interest without the need for the Company to ship or warehouse products. Furthermore, unlike with clothing or other personal products, consumers can make educated purchase decisions using on-line information. Self Help programs can be intelligently selected through on-line articles, excerpts and reviews. In addition, the demographic overlap between frequent Self Help program buyers and Internet users is high. Further, Self Help Centers.com promises significant benefits for Speakers and Authors because Internet distribution is believed to greatly reduce product returns and because consumer preference information can be efficiently captured and utilized to create new programs.

The Industry:
The Internet is an increasingly significant global medium for communications, content and on-line commerce. International Data Corporation (“IDC”) estimates that the number of Web users grew to approximately 163 million in 2000. Growth in Internet usage has been fueled by a number of factors, including advances in the performance and speed of personal computers and modems, improvements in network infrastructure, easier and cheaper access to the Internet and increased awareness. The increasing functionality, accessibility and overall usage of the Internet has made them an attractive commercial medium. The Internet is evolving into a unique sales and marketing channel, just as retail stores, mail-order catalogs and television shopping have done. The minimal cost to publish on the Web, the ability to reach and serve a large and global group of customers electronically from a central location, and the potential for personalized low-cost customer interaction provide additional economic benefits for Self Help Centers, Inc. Unlike traditional retail channels, Self Help Centers does not have the burdensome costs of managing and maintaining a significant retail store infrastructure or the continuous printing and mailing costs of catalog marketing. Because of these advantages over traditional retailers, Self Help Centers has the potential to build large, global customer bases quickly and to achieve superior economic returns over the long term.

Traditional Self Help Industry:
The worldwide Self Help book and tape industry is large, growing and relatively fragmented. According to Euromonitor, U.S. Self Help book sales are expected to grow to approximately $25 billion in 2000, while worldwide book sales will be approximately $70 billion by the end of 2000. Several characteristics of the traditional Self Help industry have created inefficiencies for all participants. Physical store-based book retailers must make significant investments in inventory, real estate and personnel for each retail location. This capital and real estate intensive business model, among other things, limits the amount of inventory that can be economically carried in any location. The average superstore stocks less than 10% of the Self Help books believed to be in print, which limits customer selection and available retail shelf space for the majority of published titles. Finally, publishers and traditional book retailers cannot easily obtain demographic and behavioral data about customers, limiting opportunities for direct marketing and personalized services.