We are delighted that you are visiting our 'virtual' Ferns Country Store and, just as if you stepped into our 'bricks and mortar' site (doesn't that make us sound so technical?!), we want you to have a pleasant experience. While we much prefer the old fashioned way of doing business, we believe that the internet offers an unique opportunity to communicate and share information with our customers.

You should feel confident that at no time will we ever invade or compromise your privacy. As we always say "What happens at Ferns Stays at Ferns." Same thing here. Everything we do on this site is done with the same attention to the services we provide in person at our store. Just like at the store our goal is to have this site be simple and friendly to use. And just like at the store, we want you to stop, rest a spell and take some time to ponder. Unlike visits in person, however, the use of unseen technologies are used here. This Privacy Policy includes where you will encounter such technologies and how we use them. Within this section you will find:

Information which may be collected at FernsCountryStore.com
A different flavor of cookies then we sell at our store bakery
Contact from us like through email or surveys
Kids visiting FernsCountryStore.com

Information which may be collected at FernsCountryStore.com
As with most websites, only anonymous information shared by your browser can be 'seen' by us. This may include the type of server you are using, time of day, pages most frequently visited, what you're wearing (just kidding), etc. We use this information to help make our site more useful to you.

Any personally identifying information which we may collect is info which you have directly provided. For example, if you subscribe to our Pickle Barrel E-Newsletter (which you should do), complete a survey, enter a contest or sweepstakes or make an online purchase, you may be asked to provide information such as your email address, name or phone number. Optional information such as your age, gender or mailing address may also be requested depending on the legal or marketing requirements. The information collected is then used to solely fulfill your request.

If you choose to purchase items through features on our site or through any of our linked partners, your information may be forwarded to third parties for services such as credit card processing and order fulfillment. You should also be aware that there may also be occasion when we are legally required to provide access to our database in order to cooperate with police investigations or other legal proceedings. In those instances, the information is provided only for that purpose. But for the life of us, we can't imagine any of our customers ever involved in any such entanglements!

While this site contains links to other sites we are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of other such sites. Otherwise, FernsCountryStore.com does not sell, rent or trade any of our users' information without first receiving your permission.

A different flavor of cookies then we sell at our store bakery
There is a technology called "cookies" which we may use to provide tailored information from our website. These virtual cookies are little nuggets of information that are placed by a website in a storage place on your own computer (why don't they call it a cookie jar?). At no time can the cookie do anything to harm your computer and your machine provides you the ability to remove them at any time. This is entirely different then the scrumptious cookies you can buy in our bakery. Larry has a particular fondness for our M&M cookies which he often enjoys with a glass of cold milk. Our sons have called attention to his increasing waistline which he swears is the result of his Italian heritage. But we digress… Here we use these virtual cookies to control the display of our graphics, to deliver content, information, ads, to track usage patterns on the site, gather broad demographic info and to record registration and personalization information which you may have directly provided. Our cookies may contain personally identifiable information. Some of our links occasionally serve you cookies as well. We do not have control over cookies placed by other sites. If you don't want cookies, your web browser probably gives you the option to not accept them. However, if you set your browser to refuse cookies, some portions of FernsCountryStore.com may not function properly. While your individual information is protected as outlined above, we reserve the right to use aggregated, anonymous data about our users as a group collected via cookies or your IP address for any business purpose, such as analyzing usage trends, helping diagnose problems with our server and seeking compatible advertisers and partners.

But DO do yourself a favor and stop by the store and try our real cookies. They taste so much better than the virtual cookies offered up here.

Contact from us like through emails or surveys.
Just like at our old store on the rotary, we often see our customers engaged in spirited discussions. And we've certainly discovered that our friendly customers enjoy sharing their opinions. So from time to time, we may offer up surveys to elicit feedback from our community. They could be about our website, in store services or to help our Town leadership know which way the wind is blowing on a particular issue. In all cases, the surveys are optional and we will not obtain personal information unless you choose to provide it. And if you do it will be kept confidential. Remember what we told you above "What happens at Ferns Stays at Ferns." Any other contact is because you've specifically requested our E-News or to notify you that you've won a contest if we run one and you did indeed win.

If you do not wish to receive communications from us or want to unsubscribe from our E-News or other service (tho we can't imagine why), simply send us an email stating 'unsubscribe.' At Ferns we aim to keep things simple.

Kids visiting FernsCountryStore.com
We thoroughly enjoy the kids that visit our store on the rotary! They add such a delightful vibrancy to our day. Here at FernsCountryStore.com, however, the site is primarily aimed at adults. Quite frankly kids would probably be bored by what's here. But rest assured all information on our site is 'kid-friendly.' Should kids visit us here (tho' we're much more fun in person!), no one under age 13 is allowed to provide any personal information. Minors between the ages of 13 and 17 must get the permission of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before making purchases on or through this site. Do your kids a favor and limit the time the spend on their computer and monitor what they do!

Other stuff
If you have other concerns or questions about any aspect of this policy want to give us feedback or to simply say 'yo!' you can email us. You can also send us regular mail the old fashioned way at: Ferns Country Store, PO Box 31, Carlisle, MA 01741-0031. Or you can stop by the store and talk to us directly. We're right heah in the village center sitting on the rotary.