Privacy Policy

What information do we collect?

We collect information from you when you register on the site, place an order, enter a contest or sweepstakes, respond to a survey or communication such as e-mail, or participate in another site feature.

When ordering or registering, we may ask you for your name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information or other information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.

We also collect information about gift recipients so that we can fulfill the gift purchase. The information we collect about gift recipients is not used for marketing purposes.
Like many websites, we use "cookies" to enhance your experience and gather information about visitors and visits to our websites. Please refer to the "Do we use 'cookies'?" section below for information about cookies and how we use them.

How do we use your information?

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, purchase products, enter a contest or promotion, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:

To personalize your site experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.

To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.

To quickly process your transactions.

To administer a contest, promotion, survey or other site feature.

If you have opted-in to receive our e-mail newsletter, we may send you periodic e-mails. If you would no longer like to receive promotional e-mail from us, please refer to the "How can you opt-out, remove or modify information you have provided to us?" section below. If you have not opted-in to receive e-mail newsletters, you will not receive these e-mails. Visitors who register or participate in other site features such as marketing programs and 'members-only' content will be given a choice whether they would like to be on our e-mail list and receive e-mail communications from us.

How do we protect visitor information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. When you place orders or access your personal information, we offer the use of a secure server. All sensitive/credit information you supply is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our databases to be only accessed as stated above.

Do we use "cookies"?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site's or service provider's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us remember and process the items in your shopping cart. They are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

We may contract with third-party service providers to assist us in better understanding our site visitors. These service providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business.
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies. If you turn cookies off, you won't have access to many features that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly. However, you can still place orders over the telephone by contacting customer service.

Do we disclose the information we collect to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice, except as described below. The term "outside parties" does not include Alison's Montessori. It also does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property, or safety.
However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.

How can you opt-out, remove or modify information you have provided to us?

To modify your e-mail subscriptions, please let us know by modifying your preferences in the "My Account" section. Please note that due to email production schedules you may receive any emails already in production.
To delete all of your online account information from our database, sign into the "My Account" section of our site and remove your shipping addresses, billing addresses & payment information. Please note that we may maintain information about an individual sales transaction in order to service that transaction and for record keeping.

Third party links

In an attempt to provide you with increased value, we may include third party links on our site. These linked sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these linked sites (including if a specific link does not work).

Changes to our policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page. Policy changes will apply only to information collected after the date of the change. This policy was last modified on August 6, 2003.

Questions and feedback

We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns about privacy. Please send us any and all feedback pertaining to privacy, or any other issue.

Online Policy Only

This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.

Terms and Conditions

Please also visit our Terms and Conditions section establishing the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use of our website.

Your consent

By using our site, you consent to our privacy policy.

Our Montessori and Educational Materials are manufactured in different parts of the world: USA, Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Taiwan, Canada and India by established companies who have been manufacturing materials for many years. With their expertise and our quality control, you can expect a superior product from Alison's Montessori for years to come. We work with schools around the country to test our products for safety and durability. We have a network of trained Montessori teachers who help us develop materials and who advise us on products suitable for our customers. Our products are tested for toxic paint before they leave their country of origin, and also tested when they arrive at our warehouse in NJ. Our products comply with all U.S. and European Toy Safety Standards.

For smaller order we might use USPS (Post Office) depending on the weight and location of the shipping address. For heavier boxes, we use UPS. For international deliveries we use DHL or USPS.

You will be notified of your tracking number via UPS or USPS when your materials are shipped. If you don't get an email, then you can check your shipping status on our website for the courier and tracking information.

Yes, we do accept Purchase Orders from public schools and charter schools as long as the PO is on a school or an organization letterhead. The PO must be signed by the Director of the school, someone in the Purchasing Department or an agency who submits payment on behalf of your school. You can fax the PO to us at 201-831-0008 or place an order through our online store, choose the PO payment method and fax us the signed PO.