Introduction & Scope

QD Blades LLC ("we," "us," "our," or the "Company") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit qdblades.com (the "Website"), purchase products from us, communicate with our sales representatives, or otherwise interact with our business.

By using the Website or providing personal information to us, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the Website or provide personal information to us. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Sale.

Who We Serve

We are a business-to-business (B2B) distributor of industrial cutting products. Our customers are primarily professional contractors, construction businesses, and commercial buyers, with a smaller portion of individual purchasers. The Website and our products are not directed at children under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.

Information We Collect

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you contact us, request a quote, place an order, or interact with our sales representatives, you may provide us with:

• Identity information — your name, business name, job title;
• Contact information — email address, phone number, mailing address, shipping address, billing address;
• Transaction information — order details, products purchased, quantities, prices, payment method, order history;
• Communication information — content of emails, phone calls, text messages, and other communications with us;
• Tax information — resale or tax exemption certificates where applicable.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Website, certain information may be collected automatically through cookies, log files, and similar technologies. This may include:

• IP address, approximate location (city/state level), device type, browser type, and operating system;
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, and click patterns;
• Date and time of visits, and other usage data.

3.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive information about you from third parties, such as:

• Payment processors (e.g., Stripe) — confirmation of payment, last four digits of payment card;
• Shipping carriers — delivery confirmation, tracking information;
• Lead-list providers — publicly available business contact information used by our sales representatives for cold outreach;
• Website analytics providers — aggregated traffic and usage data.

How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for legitimate business purposes, including:

1. processing and fulfilling orders, including payment processing and shipping;
2. responding to inquiries, quotes, and customer service requests;
3. communicating with you about your orders, products, and account;
4. sending marketing communications, where permitted by law and subject to your right to opt out;
5. operating, maintaining, and improving the Website and our services;
6. preventing fraud, securing our systems, and protecting our rights and the rights of others;
7. complying with legal, tax, regulatory, and contractual obligations;
8. conducting analytics and business intelligence to understand customer needs and improve our offerings; and
9. any other purpose disclosed at the time of collection or with your consent.

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

5.1 Use of Cookies

The Website may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as web beacons, pixels, and local storage) to enable core functionality, remember your preferences, analyze traffic, and improve user experience.

5.2 Types of Cookies

• Essential cookies — required for the Website to function (e.g., page navigation, secure areas);
• Analytics cookies — collect aggregated information about how visitors use the Website;
• Functional cookies — remember your preferences and settings;
• Marketing cookies — used to deliver relevant advertising or measure marketing campaign performance, where deployed.

5.3 Netlify Hosting

The Website is hosted on Netlify. Netlify may set certain cookies necessary for site operation and may collect aggregated analytics about Website visitors. Netlify's data practices are governed by the Netlify Privacy Policy.

5.4 Your Cookie Choices

Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect Website functionality. Where required by law, we will request your consent before deploying non-essential cookies.

5.5 Do Not Track

The Website does not currently respond to Do Not Track ("DNT") browser signals due to the lack of an industry standard for DNT compliance.

Third-Party Services

We use third-party service providers to operate our business. These providers process personal information on our behalf, subject to their own privacy policies and our contractual requirements.

We may add, remove, or change service providers from time to time without updating this list. The categories of providers used (hosting, analytics, payment, email, shipping) remain consistent.

Information Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We may share personal information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers — with the third-party providers listed in Section 6, solely to perform services on our behalf;
• Legal compliance — to comply with applicable law, court orders, subpoenas, or government requests;
• Protection of rights — to protect our rights, property, safety, or that of our customers, employees, or others;
• Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or similar corporate transaction;
• With consent — with your consent or at your direction.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including:

• Order and transaction records — retained for at least seven (7) years for tax, accounting, and legal purposes;
• Customer contact information — retained for the duration of our business relationship and a reasonable period thereafter;
• Marketing contacts — retained until you opt out or until the information is no longer commercially relevant;
• Lead-list information — retained for the duration of active sales outreach and reasonably thereafter.

Upon expiration of the applicable retention period, we will delete or anonymize personal information, except as required by law.

Data Security

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include password protection, restricted access to systems containing personal information, and use of reputable third-party processors with industry-standard security practices (e.g., Stripe's PCI-compliant payment processing).

Despite these measures, no system can be guaranteed 100% secure. We cannot warrant the security of any information transmitted to or from us over the Internet. You provide personal information at your own risk.

Your Privacy Rights — General

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to:

• access the personal information we hold about you;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• request deletion of personal information (subject to legal retention requirements);
• opt out of marketing communications by following unsubscribe instructions or contacting us;
• request a copy of your information in a portable format.

To exercise these rights, email us at john@qdblades.com. We may verify your identity before responding and will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law (typically 30–45 days).

California Residents — Additional Rights (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act ("CCPA"), provides you with additional rights regarding your personal information:

11.1 Right to Know

You may request that we disclose:

• the categories of personal information we have collected about you in the prior 12 months;
• the categories of sources from which we collected the information;
• the business or commercial purpose for collecting the information;
• the categories of third parties with whom we shared the information;
• the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

11.2 Right to Delete

You may request deletion of personal information we have collected from you, subject to exceptions permitted by law (e.g., information necessary to complete a transaction, comply with legal obligations, or detect security incidents).

11.3 Right to Correct

You may request that we correct inaccurate personal information we maintain about you.

11.4 Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing

We do not sell personal information as the term "sell" is defined under the CCPA, and we do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. Therefore, no opt-out is required. If our practices change, we will update this Privacy Policy and provide a clear opt-out mechanism.

11.5 Right to Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights, including by denying service, charging different prices, or providing a different level of quality.

11.6 Sensitive Personal Information

We do not collect or use sensitive personal information for purposes that would trigger your right to limit such use under the CCPA.

11.7 How to Exercise CCPA Rights

California residents may submit a CCPA request by emailing john@qdblades.com with the subject line "CCPA Request." We will verify your identity before responding and will respond within 45 days (with one possible 45-day extension as permitted by law). You may designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, subject to verification.

Children's Privacy

The Website and our services are not directed at children under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we learn that we have collected information from a child under 18, we will delete that information promptly. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information should contact us at john@qdblades.com.

International Users

The Website is operated from the United States and intended for U.S. users. We do not currently market products or services to users outside the United States. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so at your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with applicable local law.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Effective Date" at the top of this Policy will indicate when it was last revised. Material changes will be posted to qdblades.com/privacy. Continued use of the Website following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

Contact Us

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices: