Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 25, 2026

Who we are

MineralCache, LLC ("MineralCache," "we," "us," or "our") operates a multi-vendor marketplace for minerals, fossils, crystals, gemstones, and related goods (the "Services"). Contact: privacy@mineralcache.com; MineralCache, LLC · P.O. Box 5, Llano, TX 78643, USA.

Scope

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our websites, create an account, buy or sell on MineralCache, participate in auctions, use GeoCache features, contact support, or otherwise interact with the Services.

Information we collect

• Account and profile information: name, username, email address, phone number, account credentials, date-of-birth verification status, and information you provide in your profile or support requests.
• Order, auction, and fulfillment information: billing and shipping details, order history, auction activity, shipment tracking details, refund or dispute records, and communications needed to complete marketplace transactions.
• Vendor information: business, payout, tax, identity, onboarding, listing, and compliance information submitted in connection with vendor review and marketplace operations.
• Payment information: payments are processed through Stripe and related payment services. We do not store full card numbers or card security codes on MineralCache.
• Support and communications information: messages, attachments, reports, and other information you send to us or we send to you about your account, purchases, listings, auctions, legal updates, or support issues.
• Automatically collected technical information: IP address, browser and device information, operating system, timestamps, page or feature usage, referrer information, error logs, and security-related activity.
• Cookies and similar technologies: we use an essential session cookie and browser storage for authentication, checkout and auction flows, legal acceptance prompts, preferences, and dismissed notices. See our Cookie Policy.
• Approximate location: approximate country or regional location inferred from IP address or device settings to support marketplace restrictions, tax treatment, fraud prevention, and service reliability.
• GeoCache information: if you use GeoCache features, we may collect and store cache listings, photos, specimen details, approximate public location information, exact coordinates visible only to authorized roles, favorites, claim-code verification attempts, found-status activity, and related moderation or security records.

How we use information and our reasons for doing so

• Account creation, authentication, and session management: we use account information, session data, and security logs to create accounts, sign you in, keep you signed in, and maintain account security. We do this to perform our contract with you and to protect the marketplace based on our legitimate interests.
• Orders, auctions, shipping, refunds, and vendor operations: we use transaction, shipping, payout, and communication information to process purchases, auction settlements, vendor onboarding, fulfillment, returns, refunds, and support. We do this to perform our contract with you and, where applicable, to comply with legal obligations.
• Fraud prevention, security, and marketplace enforcement: we use technical information, payment status, location signals, and account activity to prevent fraud, enforce our Terms and policies, moderate listings and auctions, investigate abuse, and keep the Services reliable. We do this based on our legitimate interests and, where required, legal obligations.
• Service communications: we use contact details and transaction records to send order confirmations, shipping updates, settlement notices, legal updates, security notices, and support responses. These communications are necessary to perform our contract with you, comply with legal obligations, or support our legitimate interests in operating the Services.
• Optional marketing or non-essential analytics: if we later enable optional marketing communications or non-essential analytics tools, we will use personal information for those purposes only under consent or another lawful basis where applicable law allows it.

When we share information

Categories of recipients may include:

• Independent vendors and marketplace participants: information needed to complete marketplace transactions, such as shipping name, shipping address, order details, and return-related information.
• Payment and financial service providers: providers such as Stripe that help us process payments, payouts, saved payment methods, fraud screening, and related financial operations.
• Operational service providers: hosting, infrastructure, communications, security, fraud-prevention, and similar providers acting on our instructions or under contractual restrictions.
• Delivery, shipping, and logistics parties: carriers or related parties where shipment, delivery confirmation, or return handling requires it.
• Legal, compliance, and safety recipients: regulators, law enforcement, professional advisers, or other parties where reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights or safety, investigate fraud or abuse, or enforce our policies.
• Business transfer parties: counterparties and advisers involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or asset sale.

International users and cross-border processing

MineralCache is based in the United States. If you access or use the Services from outside the United States, including from the European Union or the United Kingdom, your personal information may be collected, stored, accessed, and processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers or marketplace operations are located.

Data-protection laws in those countries may differ from the laws in your jurisdiction. When we transfer personal information across borders, we use contractual, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information and the transfer.

Your choices and rights

• Account information: you can update certain account details through your account settings. Some information may also be corrected by contacting us at privacy@mineralcache.com.
• Access, correction, and deletion: you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information, subject to legal exceptions and record-retention obligations, by contacting privacy@mineralcache.com.
• Marketing communications: you can opt out of marketing emails using the unsubscribe mechanism in the message or by contacting us. We may still send transactional, legal, account, order, auction, or service communications.
• Cookies and browser storage: you can control many cookies and browser-storage settings through your browser. Some essential functions, such as login, checkout, auctions, account security, and payment flows, may not work correctly without them.
• US state privacy rights: depending on your state, you may have additional rights to know, access, correct, delete, or opt out of certain processing. Contact privacy@mineralcache.com to exercise those rights where applicable.
• EEA and UK rights: if applicable law grants you rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, or withdrawal of consent, you may exercise those rights by contacting privacy@mineralcache.com. You may also lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority or, in the United Kingdom, the Information Commissioner's Office.
• Global Privacy Control and similar signals: where required by law, we honor supported global opt-out signals for the processing to which they legally apply.

Retention

We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to operate the Services, complete transactions, maintain security and fraud controls, comply with legal, tax, accounting, and recordkeeping obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of account, transaction, communication, or compliance record involved. When information is no longer needed, we delete it, anonymize it, or retain it only as required by law.

Security

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we are required to provide notice of a data breach, we will do so in accordance with applicable law.

Children

MineralCache is for users 18+. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to address it.

Do-Not-Track and similar controls

Browser Do-Not-Track signals are not uniform, so we do not respond to them as a standalone standard at this time. Where required by law, we honor applicable global opt-out signals such as GPC for relevant processing.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on the Services and, where required, we will notify you. Your continued use of the Services after changes become effective means you accept the updated Policy.

Contact

MineralCache, LLC · P.O. Box 5, Llano, TX 78643, USA · privacy@mineralcache.com