Updated October 3, 2023

Kalmbach Media Privacy Policy

By visiting Kalmbach Media’s websites, you consent to this privacy policy.

Kalmbach Media (“Kalmbach”) is committed to providing service that exceeds expectations. This includes maintaining your privacy when it comes to the collection and use of any personally identifiable information (“Personal Data”) you may provide us via the Internet or otherwise. We believe it is important to explain our information gathering practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used.

This Privacy Policy (or “Policy”) addresses information that Kalmbach collects from you, both via the Internet or through other methods, and begins by answering the following questions:

  • Who is Kalmbach?
  • What types of Personal Data does Kalmbach collect?
  • Does Kalmbach share Personal Data?
  • How does Kalmbach use your Personal Data?
  • What are your rights regarding your Personal Data?
  • How can you exercise your rights?

After answering these initial questions, this policy then addresses a number of other issues related to privacy. We suggest that you read this Policy in full before providing information to Kalmbach or visiting Kalmbach’s websites, and that you regularly check our Policy to determine if there have been any material changes that would affect your decision to continue using Kalmbach’s websites. Please note that this Policy is written in English. Kalmbach does not guarantee the accuracy of any translated versions of this Policy. To the extent any translated version of this Policy conflicts with the English version, the English version controls.

Any Personal Data that we collect from you is covered by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time the information is collected. We may revise this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting the new Policy online or by sending you an email or other notification as required by applicable law. The effective date of those changes will be posted at the top of this Privacy Policy.

Who is Kalmbach?

Kalmbach Media is the U.S.-based parent company that owns a variety of magazines, websites, and events, and products affiliated with them, including the following:

Astronomy
Classic Toy Trains
Classic Trains
Discover
FineScale Modeler
Garden Railways
Model Railroader
Model Railroader Video Plus
My Science Shop
Trains
Kalmbach.com
KalmbachStore.com
KalmbachHobbyStore.com
Space & Beyond Box.com
Trains.com

What types of Personal Data does Kalmbach collect?

Personal data is collected by Kalmbach when you place an order (for yourself or as gifts for others); register on our websites; sign up for our newsletters or to receive an electronic document; enter a contest; participate in a survey; or make a general inquiry. The information collected could include the following: name, address, phone, and email address.

We also may collect certain information automatically as you use our websites, such as your Internet Protocol address, browser type, computer type, operating system version, type of mobile device (if used), location data (if available), the website from which you navigated to our website, the time and date associated with your use of our website, the pages on our website that you view and how long you view each page, as well as other miscellaneous information about you.

To enhance your experience on our sites, many of our web pages use “cookies.” Cookies are small text files that we place in your computer’s browser to store your preferences. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us your email address or other personal information unless you choose to provide this information to us by, for example, registering at one of our sites. Once you choose to provide a web page with personal information, this information may be linked to the data stored in the cookie. A cookie is like an identification card. It is unique to your computer and can only be read by the server that gave it to you.

We use cookies to understand site usage and to improve the content and offerings on our sites. For example, we may use cookies to personalize your experience on our web pages (e.g. to recognize you by name when you return to our site). We also may use cookies to offer you products and services.

Cookies save you time as they help us to remember who you are. Cookies help us to be more efficient. We can learn about what content is important to you and what is not. We can revise or remove web pages that are not of interest and focus our energies on content you want.

If you want to control which cookies you accept, you can configure your browser to accept all cookies or to alert you every time a cookie is offered by a website’s server. Most browsers automatically accept cookies. You can set your browser option so that you will not receive cookies and you can also delete existing cookies from your browser. You may find that some parts of the site will not function properly if you have refused cookies.

Please be aware that if you do not configure your browser you will accept cookies provided by this website.

If you want to see cookies that you have accepted, you can configure your browser to accept all cookies or to alert you every time a cookie is offered by a website’s server.

We also use Google Analytics to understand how the site is being used. Google Analytics uses permanent cookies on your web browser to identify you as a unique user. All data collected is anonymous. Please review the Google Privacy pages for more information: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy.

We collect anonymous and aggregate advertising metrics, such as counting page views, promotion views, or advertising responses.

We are not responsible for and do not control cookies placed in third-party ads or any actions or policies of any third-party advertising, technology service providers, or of any third party members of any related advertising networks. We encourage you to review the privacy policies or notices published by relevant third parties. You must contact the relevant third party directly to exercise your opt-out choices with respect to such parties’ use of your information.

We are committed to ensuring the security and privacy of the personal data that you provide us. We implement all necessary technical and organizational measures, with regards to the nature, impact and context of the personal data that you share with us and the risks involved in processing it, in order to protect your personal data and, more specifically, to prevent any corruption, damage, or unauthorized use by third parties, either through accident or criminal activity. We provide a secure online payment system using the latest technologies. You can make purchases on our website with the guarantee that your data is kept confidential and secure.

Everyone has a part to play in data security and privacy. For this reason, we recommend that you avoid communicating passwords to others, and that you log out of your Kalmbach Media and social media accounts (especially if these accounts are linked), and close your browser window when leaving Kalmbach websites, especially when using a public device to access the internet. This way, other users will not be able to access your personal information.

We strongly advise against communicating any document issued by Kalmbach that contains your personal details to third parties or posting such documents on social media.

Does Kalmbach share my Personal Data?

Kalmbach reserves the right to disclose your Personal Data as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on Kalmbach. We may also share information when we have a good faith belief it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activity, to prevent imminent bodily harm, or to prevent harm to Kalmbach, our websites, or our customers. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, courts, or other government entities.

Additionally, if the ownership of all or substantially all of our business changes or we otherwise transfer assets relating to our business or the websites to a third party, we may transfer your personal information to the new owner to be used consistent with this Policy.

Kalmbach may also engage certain trusted third party companies and individuals to facilitate the websites on Kalmbach’s behalf, to perform services (e.g., without limitation, hosting and maintenance services, customer relationship services, web analytics, payment processing and database storage and management services). We may share your Personal Data with these third parties to the extent necessary to perform these functions and provide such services.

Kalmbach may also provide your information to other reputable companies or organizations for marketing or information gathering purposes. Typically, such third parties serve the hobby or leisure-time industries in one form or another. You may request to be excluded from such mailings by contacting the Data Protection Office as indicated at the end of this policy.

How does Kalmbach use my Personal Data?

We use your information primarily to respond to you and to fulfill your needs as a customer or prospective customer. We use your information to send you the magazines, books or other products you have ordered, to send you newsletters or welcome messages, to process your payment, to fulfill your request to enter a contest, to recognize you as a repeat visitor to our websites, to acknowledge your interest in participating in a survey, or to resolve a customer service matter or other inquiry you have brought to our attention.

Information volunteered by you in any message or postings on Kalmbach-provided forums, discussion/bulletin boards, club membership sites, event calendars, or the like, becomes public information. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in any such posted message.

If you subscribe to one or more of our magazines, you will also receive a notice or notices about renewing your subscription prior to its expiration date. You may request to be excluded from such renewal mailings per the procedure set forth later in this Policy. You may also receive periodic mailings from us about new products, services or upcoming events, and — from time-to-time — as mentioned earlier in the Policy, your information may be made available to other reputable companies or organizations for marketing or information gathering purposes. Typically, such third parties serve the hobby and/or leisure-time industries in one form or another. You may again request to be excluded from such mailings by contacting us directly or by taking other proactive measures, as specified below.

What are my rights regarding my Personal Data?

We believe it is important for you to understand your rights and be able to control the Personal Data you provide. Please note the following rights you have regarding your Personal Data.

  • You have the right to be informed about what Personal Data we collect and how we use it.
  • You have the right to obtain a copy of your Personal Data.
  • You have the right to correct Personal Data that is incorrect or complete your Personal Data if it is incomplete.
  • You have the right to have your Personal Data deleted from our systems in certain circumstances.
  • You have the right to object to the processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
  • You have the right to restrict processing of your Personal Data in certain circumstances.
  • You have the right to obtain or reuse any Personal Data that you provide.

How can I exercise my rights with respect to my Personal Data?

To ask a question or exercise any of your rights listed above, please contact Kalmbach’s Data Protection Office as indicated at the end of this policy.

In addition, at the time you volunteer Personal Data and at any time thereafter, you can direct us not to use this information for promotional or informational mailings. At your option, you may also elect to suppress the mailing of renewal notices for any of our magazines. If you do so, your Personal Data will be flagged in our system as “do not promote” to correspond with your request, and you will be excluded from the related Kalmbach mailings. You can also elect separately to be excluded from mailings by any third party to whom your address might otherwise be provided.

In the ordinary course of our business, we will occasionally share certain subscriber information with third parties that provide services or handle transactions on our behalf.  For the purpose of marketing goods and services to our customers, we may make certain customer information and our customer list available to carefully screened companies that offer products and services that we believe would interest our customers.  Also, for the purpose of marketing goods and services to our customers, we participate in cooperative databases, which means we may provide customer names, mailing addresses and information about customers’ purchasing history to the database so that other database participants may market goods and services to our customers.  If you do not want to have your information transmitted to third party companies that offer products and services to our customers or to database cooperatives, please advise us at Kalmbach Media Data Protection Office, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612, or email us at privacy@kalmbach.com.

If you wish to review or request any changes to information that is stored by Kalmbach, please contact us at privacy@kalmbach.com.

Consumers who wish to take control and manage the marketing offers they receive can register at the Association of National Advertiser’s (ANA’s) consumer website DMAchoice.org. DMAchoice will reduce the prospect promotional mail you receive. The ANA also offers consumers tools to assist in reducing certain email and telemarketing offers. For more information or to register, visit ANA’s website at DMAchoice.org.

Surveys and Sweepstakes

With regard to surveys in which you elect to participate, we may request demographic information (age, family income level, etc.) along with basic information regarding your reading or hobby interests and how Kalmbach may better serve those needs. Finally, name, address and other contact information may be collected so that we can respond to any customer service issue, request for information or other general inquiry, along with information about the nature of your inquiry.

Demographic and other information volunteered in connection with surveys is used primarily for internal purposes to improve the company’s responsiveness to customers’ wants, needs, interests, opinions, and suggestions. On occasion, the aggregate findings and results of such surveys may be published as a matter of interest to the hobbyists/respondents who provided the information, or for the benefit of trade associations or others who may occasionally sponsor such surveys.

Our Policy With Respect to Children Under 13

Kalmbach’s websites are not directed to children under 13. Kalmbach does not knowingly collect Personal Data from children. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with Personal Data without parental consent, he or she should contact us at privacy@kalmbach.com. If we become aware that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with Personal Data without verifiable parental consent, we will delete such information from our files.

Contact Information

Kalmbach Media Data Protection Office
P.O. Box 1612
Waukesha, WI 53187-1612
privacy@kalmbach.com