Privacy Policy

STER Auctions (sterauctions.com) is an online auction marketplace operated by Sterling Design Ventures LLC, located in Aiken, South Carolina, USA. We are the data controller for personal information collected through this website.

We collect the following personal information when you register, bid, or make a purchase on STER Auctions:

• Full name and email address for account registration
• Billing and shipping address for order fulfillment
• Payment information processed securely by PayPal or Stripe — we do not store card details
• Solana wallet address if you choose to pay with SOL cryptocurrency
• Bidding history and transaction records
• IP address, browser type, and device information collected automatically
• Government-issued ID for seller verification as part of the Become a Seller application

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To create and manage your STER Auctions account
• To process bids, payments, and order fulfillment
• To send order confirmations, winning bid notifications, and payment reminders
• To verify seller identity and process seller applications
• To resolve disputes between buyers and sellers
• To improve the platform through analytics and usage data
• To send marketing communications where you have opted in
• To comply with applicable legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your data with the following third parties solely to operate the platform:

• PayPal and Stripe for payment processing
• AppScenic for order fulfillment and dropshipping logistics
• MailPoet for transactional and marketing email delivery
• GreenGeeks for website hosting and infrastructure
• Law enforcement or regulatory authorities where required by law

Seller shipping addresses are shared with the relevant seller or fulfillment partner to complete delivery.

STER Auctions uses cookies to operate the platform and improve your experience. These include:

• Essential cookies required for the WooCommerce shopping cart and checkout to function
• Session cookies to keep you logged in during your visit
• Analytics cookies to understand how visitors use the site
• Payment gateway cookies placed by PayPal and Stripe during checkout

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling essential cookies may prevent the platform from functioning correctly.

We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide services. Transaction records are retained for a minimum of 7 years for accounting and legal compliance purposes. You may request deletion of your account and associated data at any time subject to legal retention requirements.

Depending on your jurisdiction you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• The right to access the personal data we hold about you
• The right to correct inaccurate personal data
• The right to request deletion of your personal data
• The right to object to processing of your personal data
• The right to data portability
• The right to withdraw consent for marketing communications at any time

To exercise any of these rights please contact us at admin@sterauctions.com. We will respond within 30 days.

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data including SSL encryption, secure payment processing through PCI-compliant providers, and restricted access to personal data by staff. However no internet transmission is 100% secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

STER Auctions is strictly for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has registered on our platform please contact us immediately at admin@sterauctions.com.

We reserve the right to update this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Your continued use of STER Auctions following any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.