Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy covers what information we collect from you when you visit the Barnes & Noble Gift Card website (the "BN Gift Card Site"), how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. By using the BN Gift Card Site, you agree with the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy.

1. The information we collect and how we use it

When you use the BN Gift Card Site, Marketing Services (Minnesota) Corp. ("MSC"), the issuer of the Barnes & Noble Gift Cards; receives and collects certain information. The information that we receive or collect depends on what you do when you visit the BN Gift Card Site:

Information Collected		How We Use It	User's Elections Regarding Collection or Usage
Category	Detailed Description
Information You Actively Submit to MSC	Occasionally, you may actively submit "Personal Customer Information" - information about you that includes contact information such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number - when you are on the BN Gift Card Site.	Occasionally, MSC uses Personal Customer Information to market its own and third party products and services.	You can opt-out from us using your information for this purpose at any time by emailing us at giftcardprefs@bn.com.
Automatically Collected Information	Some information is sometimes automatically collected when you visit the BN Gift Card Site. For instance, we collect the name of the domain and host from which you access the Internet; the Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; the browser software you use and your operating system; the date and time you access our site; and the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to the BN Gift Card Site. Also, when we send emails to you, we may be able to identify information about your email address, such as whether you can read graphic-rich HTML emails.	We use this information generally to monitor the usage of our site. All of the information we automatically capture provides us with the ability to enhance our customers' search and shopping experiences and to determine aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns.	.
Information Collected via Cookies	"Cookies" are small files or records that we place on your computer's hard drive to collect information about your activities on the BN Gift Card Site. The cookies transmit this information back to the computers at MSC and its subcontractors; these computers are, generally the only computers which are authorized to read such information.	We use cookies to enhance the browsing and shopping experience on the BN Gift Card Site. The information captured makes it possible for us (i) to speed navigation, and provide you with custom tailored content; (ii) to remember information you gave to us so you don't have to reenter it each time you visit the BN Gift Card Site; (iii) to monitor the effectiveness of certain of our marketing email campaigns; and (iv) to monitor total number of visitors, pages viewed, and the total number of banners served.	Most people do not know that cookies are being written because browsers are typically set to accept cookies. You can choose to have your browser warn you every time a cookie is about to be written or you can turn off cookie placement. Just be aware that if you refuse cookies, your overall Internet browsing experience will be affected.
Information Collected Using Pixel Tags or Clear GIFs	MSC may use "message format" and "message open" sensing technologies. Both technologies require the use of pixel tags or clear GIFs (also called web beacons).	To help us understand the effectiveness of certain of our email marketing efforts, the "message format" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails; if so, this information is then associated with your email address so that subsequent messages can be sent to you in HTML format. The "message open" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have opened our email message.	The message sensing and message open technologies can only be opened if your have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails.

2. How we share Personal Customer Information with Third Parties
MSC shares Personal Customer Information that we collect as follows:
		Subcontractors. We send Personal Customer Information to third-party subcontractors and agents that work on our behalf to provide certain services. These third parties do not have the right to use the Personal Customer Information beyond what is necessary to assist us. They are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the Personal Customer Information and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized by MSC.
		Companies affiliated with MSC. From time to time, on limited bases, we may share with entities affiliated with MSC (e.g., Barnes & Noble Booksellers and Barnes & Noble.com) Personal Customer Information of our customers so that such entities can promote special offers, events, new products and services. You can opt out from our use of your information in this way at any time by emailing us at giftcardprefs@bn.com.
		Other Trustworthy Third Parties. From time to time, on limited bases, we may share with trustworthy third parties Personal Customer Information of our customers so that such third parties can promote their products and services. You can opt out from our disclosure of your information for this purpose at any time by emailing us at giftcardprefs@bn.com.
		Law Enforcement Investigations. MSC may release Personal Customer Information when we believe, in our good judgment, that such release is reasonably necessary to comply with law, enforce or apply the terms of any of our policies or user agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of MSC, our users, or others.

3. Communications from MSC
As a MSC customer, you may receive the following communications from MSC:
		Communications related to transaction a activities. You may receive communications from us relating to: order confirmations; order updates; order problems; and material changes to the BN Gift Card Site policies and procedures.
		Communications from MSC and its affiliated companies (e.g., Barnes & Noble Booksellers). As discussed above, we use and share your Personal Customer Information to communicate special offers, events, new products and services from MSC and our affiliated companies. We communicate via email, postal mail and outbound telephone calls. Any MSC customer for who receives such communications can opt-out from the receipt of any such communications by emailing us at giftcardprefs@bn.com.

4. Linking to third-party web sites

When you click on links and banners on our site that take you to third-party web sites, you will be subject to the third parties' privacy policies. While we support the protection of privacy on the Internet, MSC cannot be responsible for the actions of any third-party web sites. We encourage you to read the posted privacy statement of any and every site you visit, whether you are linking from our site or browsing on your own.

5. Changes to Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is dated October 2005. MSC reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the BN Gift Card Site. The changes will affect the collection and use of all information we have collected and will collect unless we clearly express otherwise.