Paraqon publishes this Privacy Policy to let you know how we collect, use, and disclose your personal information in the course of operating our business. It also describes your rights in relation to this information. In some circumstances, such as for certain events, we may provide additional information regarding our data practices. This Privacy Policy applies to any Paraqon service, event, website, mobile application or other digital or non-digital service, and any hard copy (paper) form which provides a link to or refers to this Privacy Policy.
For those who reside in the United Kingdom, Switzerland or the European Economic Area, please see the end of this Policy for additional information regarding our practices. For California and Virginia residents, please see the section titled “Additional Information for California and Virginia Residents”.
If you reside in mainland China or transact or consign there or use any of our Chinese apps, website or digital properties, please see the section below titled “Additional Information for China Customers” for additional information that applies to you.
INFORMATION PARAQON COLLECTS ABOUT YOU
Personal information is information, or a combination of pieces of information, that could reasonably allow you to be identified. As described in more detail below, we collect personal information about you from a variety of sources, including information we collect from you directly, information we collect about you from other sources, and information we collect automatically from you.
Information We Collect Directly From You
We collect information that you submit to us face to face, over the telephone, on a paper form, by email or online or provide to us on forms available on third party websites. The types of information that we collect directly from you include: personal details (e.g., name, date of birth, alias and/or avatar alias), contact details (e.g., phone number, email address, postal address), transaction information (e.g., bidding or purchase records, shipping details, information about items you purchase or wish to sell or consign), details about your collection, financial information (e.g., tokenized payment information in connection with your purchases, wire instructions, bank account or bank transfer details, digital wallet details and address), username and password, user ID, unique device ID, information on forms required for certain transactions (e.g social security number), insurance details, and identification information (e.g. photo ID and proof of address).
We rely on the information you provide to us or that we collect or observe about your individual interactions with us, for example, if you attend a live event, sell or consign property, participate in one of our auctions or sales, become a client, register or bid online.
Information We Collect From Other Sources
We may collect information about you from external sources, including social media sites and data supplementation services. The types of information we collect about you from other sources include your public profile information, family relationships, organizational affiliations, results of verification checks, nature of your connection to an organisation, your source of wealth, whether you are subject to sanctions, a PEP or a family member or close associate of a PEP. We may work to expand our customer base by acquiring names, contact data, financial information, affiliations, and demographic information from other sources such as private companies, public registers, and social media sites, where permitted by law. We may also generate information such as appraisals, profiles, and a history of our relationships with you based on the information you have provided or that we have obtained from other sources, as permitted under applicable law.
Information We Collect Automatically
We may make video recordings of our auctions (including for security reasons and to monitor bidding), gallery spaces, and certain live events.
Live streaming of our auctions and certain events is available on our websites and on social media for certain auctions. Cameras and microphones recording images and sounds for live streaming focus primarily on auctioneers, presenters and our specialists but it is possible that background sound and images may be captured.
We use CCTV at our sales rooms and offices for the protection of our staff, our visitors and the property we sell.
We record calls made to our customer care and telephone bidding lines for quality assurance, compliance purposes, and recordkeeping purposes.
We may use common data collection technologies as you visit our websites or apps or interact with our emails. For example:
– Our logs gather date, time, information about your browser and system or device configuration, information about how you interact with our digital properties, and an IP address for all visitors to our sites.
– If you have registered with us online, we use data collection technologies to collect information that indicates your individual interests in our websites, online platforms and apps, and your response to our emails and marketing campaigns.
– The Cookies and similar technologies on our digital platforms can also read and collect data about your browsers as you visit and interact with those platforms: please read our Cookie Policy for more detailed information about what cookies are, what kinds are used on our sites, and what choices you have. As described further in our Cookie Policy, we use these technologies to enable you to use our digital platforms, learn how you and others interact with our digital platforms, personalize the content on our digital platforms, and to deliver advertising based on your interests, including those inferred from your activities over time and across digital platforms operated by us and others.
– In general, our app will communicate data you provide about yourself, for example, registration, purchase, or bidding data, to our databases and systems. An app may, however, rely on other data collection technologies to recognize the device you use for viewing and to personalize your experience. If our app relies on additional data collection technologies that collect or use data about individual users, we will include additional notice either within the app or in a policy that accompanies it.
– We also use and allow certain other companies to use technologies that are similar to cookies (for example pixels and gifs) when we send you emails.
HOW PARAQON USES INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Paraqon uses data about you for the following purposes, as permitted by applicable law:
– To provide you with the requested services. For example, bidding, selling, valuation, storage, shipping, loans and loan referral, restoration and expert advice.
– To manage and assure the integrity of our auctions.
– To on-board you as a client, verify your identity and sources of wealth and to satisfy our know your client obligations, to enter into and fulfill contracts with you, to fulfill your orders and purchases, facilitate sales or consignments, provide the publications, catalogs, and information you request, to manage your account, enquiries and requests and your relationship with us.
– To identify products, services, and offers you may be interested in based on your transactions and interactions with us, including but not limited to consignments, bidding histories, payment histories and events attended.
– To where you consign or sell property with us, advertise and sell your property on any of our international and country specific apps, websites and digital properties.
– To send you information about upcoming auctions, events, types of property and content that you may be interested in.
– To improve and personalize based on your inferred interests from our website and services.
– To match online ads to your interests, arrange for Paraqon and other companies’ ads to reach you after you have left our sites, and help advertisers show you ads that are more relevant to your interests.
– To expand our online audiences.
– To provide, maintain, and protect our digital offerings.
– To monitor the performance of our websites, apps and digital properties and improve your user experience.
– To satisfy legal obligations and compliance requirements under laws and regulations applicable to Paraqon, and members of the wider Paraqon group of companies (both within your jurisdiction and internationally). For example, know your client, to check and verify your identity and to protect against the risk of fraud and to detect and prevent money laundering or other financial crime.
– To carry out anti money laundering checks, risk screening and transaction screening and monitoring.
– To create and maintain records of art objects to assist us (and in the case of our public records including our online lot pages and online and printed catalogues to assist the public) with checks on authenticity, provenance, title and object value and to prevent fraud, theft or other unlawful activities.
– To identify an alternative third party auction or sale house where your property does not meet our requirements or is not suitable for consignment with or sale by us. In the event you choose to consign or sell your property with such third party auction or sale house such third party will provide us with details of any sale to enable us to confirm and audit any introductory commission that may be due to us.
– To protect and defend our rights and property, you, or third parties.
– To keep you, our staff and property on our premises secure.
– To comply with legal obligations and regulations to which Paraqon and/or the wider Paraqon group of companies are subject and cooperate with regulators, other appropriate agencies or authorities and law enforcement bodies, both within your jurisdiction and internationally.
– To develop, improve and test certain of our products and services.
– To monitor the use of our services, train our staff and improve your client or your user experience. For example, through survey or market research.
– For other purposes that we tell you about specifically when you register or provide data about yourself to us.
HOW PARAQON DISCLOSES INFORMATION ABOUT YOU
Your personal information will be processed by the Paraqon entity that initially receives it. We also share information within the Paraqon group of companies for the purposes set out in this privacy policy.
Paraqon may disclose personal information to other companies or entities as follows:
– To business partners and vendors that work on our behalf to provide services such as property shipments, mailings, customer account and technology support, secure payment processing, experts who help us authenticate or value your property, fraud prevention, digital marketing management, and data and property storage or warehousing.
– To our auction or sales partners in association with auctions or sales. For example, when we offer auctions or sales with our group or third-party partners, we may share auction or sale related data with those partners subject to the privacy policy or policies made available to you when registering for or bidding in association with the auctions or sales.
– To consigners, sellers, buyers, customs authorities and others as needed to facilitate a consignment, sale or purchase, including to arrange the collection, delivery or shipment of property.
– To organizations we partner with to host events and those who are involved in such events such as caterers and the event venues.
– To law enforcement or other entities that present valid legal process or in our discretion, unless otherwise prohibited by law, to protect human safety, our rights, or the rights of others.
– To meet certain legal compliance requirements, for example under anti-money laundering laws or customs laws and regulations.
– To US, UK, EU, Asian and other domestic and overseas regulators, law enforcement agencies and authorities and other appropriate agencies or authorities in connection with their duties, such as preventing, investigating or detecting crime or to conduct money and trade sanction checks and to meet our compliance, legal and health and safety obligations.
-- To identity checking and verification, AML, fraud and risk screening services, including for sanctions and/or negative media purposes.
– To an alternative third party auction or sale house where your property does not meet our requirements or is not suitable for sale by us to identify if you would like to consign or sell certain items with such third party.
As part of a sale, merger, liquidation, or transfer of our business assets.
– We may share information with digital advertising and analytics firms so that they may recognize your devices and deliver interest-based content and advertisements to you. The information we share may include your name, postal address, email, device ID, or other identifier. These firms may collect additional information from you, such as your IP address and information about your browser or operating system; may combine information about you with information from other companies in data sharing cooperatives in which we participate; and may place or recognize their own unique cookie on your browser. To learn about certain choices you may have with regard to such sharing, please see our Cookie Policy.
YOUR CHOICES
You have a choice about and control over:
– Receiving marketing messages from us. We may contact you by email, text, or SMS messaging. You may stop email marketing by using the “opt out,” or “unsubscribe” mechanism at the bottom of our email marketing messages. In most cases, we will give you a choice about stopping just one kind of email or opting out of all email marketing from us.
– Whether cookies can be set or read on your browser. You can learn more about controlling cookies placed on your device as you visit our sites in our Cookie Policy.
– Whether your account is up to date. You may review and edit the personal information that is stored in your user account on our website (e.g., your passwords and other contact information) by visiting the “Profile” area of your account on our website or by contacting Paraqon via the email address at the end of this Policy. We will endeavor to respond to your request as soon as practicable. Before we are able to provide you with any information, correct any inaccuracies, or delete any information, however, we may ask you to verify your identity and to provide other details to help us to respond to your request.
INFORMATION SECURITY AND STORAGE
Paraqon is a global company. We receive data collected locally by members of the Paraqon group and collect data online directly from individuals in countries around the world. Paraqon may in the normal course of its business transfer your personal information internationally to Paraqon salesrooms, offices and representatives, and to other organisations who need to process your data in connection with the services that Paraqon provides. We may process that data on servers globally. Your data will also be held on our servers in the USA. We have put recognized protections in place for the transfer of data from members of the Paraqon group in the UK and EEA to regulate the processing of personal data outside of these countries.
We protect your information using physical, technical, and administrative security measures to reduce the risks of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, and alteration. Please be aware, though, that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. You remain responsible for protecting your username and password and for the security of information you transmit to us over the Internet.
We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you. Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:
- Maintain business records for analysis and/or audit purposes.
- Comply with record retention requirements under the law or other relevant legal or regulatory requirements.
- Defend or bring any existing or potential legal claims.
- Deal with any complaints regarding the services.
- Preserve historical records of transactions and property.
We will delete your personal information when it is no longer required for these purposes.
CHILDREN’S DATA
Our websites are directed to adults. We do not accept children as clients or knowingly collect data about them.
THIRD PARTY WEBSITES
Our websites may contain links to other websites not owned or controlled by Paraqon. Those websites may collect information about you. Paraqon is not responsible for their practices or content.
Additionally, we may work with auction partners so that you can bid on Paraqon items from other sites or platforms. If you participate in an online auction on another company’s site or platform, please note that those companies may transfer data about you to us to fulfill successful bids and that we may use that data in a manner consistent with this Policy. Please note that if you use another company’s auction site, you should review the posted privacy policy applicable to that site.
Your Rights
You may ask us if you have questions about the data we hold on you. Under certain circumstances, subject to local law requirements, you may have rights under data protection laws applicable to your personal data. These may include a right to a copy of your personal information, to correct it, erase it, restrict our use of it, or to transfer it to other organizations at your request subject to local law. You may also have rights to object to some processing and, where we have asked for your consent to process your data, to withdraw this consent. Please contact us at info@paraqon.com if you wish to exercise any of the rights that apply to you and your personal data.
HOW TO CONTACT US
For questions about this Privacy Policy please email us at info@paraqon.com
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
You may request a copy of this Policy from us using the contact details set out above. We may modify or update this Policy from time to time. If we change this Policy, we will notify you of the changes by updating this Policy on our website. Where changes to this Policy notice will have a fundamental impact on the nature of the processing or otherwise have a substantial impact on you, we will give you sufficient advance notice so that you have the opportunity to exercise your rights.
COOKIES POLICY
Paraqon uses and allows certain other companies to set cookies and other technologies on the web sites and mobile applications covered by our Privacy Policy (the ‘Sites’). Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information, which are downloaded to your device, or more technically, to the browser that you use on that device, when you visit a site. The entity that placed cookie on your browser can then read the information on that cookie that it set. You can find more information about cookies at: www.allaboutcookies.org . Our web sites, emails, and mobile applications may contain small, transparent image files or lines of code that help record how you interact with the online services. These tracking technologies are often used in conjunction with cookies (or the unique identifier of your device). For purposes of this Cookie Policy, cookies and other tracking technologies will be referred to, collectively, as “cookies.”
Cookies help us to improve our site and to deliver a better and more personalized service, for instance by storing information about your preferences and allowing us to recognize you when you return to our site.
Our Sites use the following types of cookies:
Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Sites and use their features, such as accessing secure areas of the Sites. Without these cookies, services like enabling appropriate content based your type of device cannot be provided.
Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use the Sites, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and is only used to improve how the Sites work.
Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow the Sites to remember choices you make (such as your language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customise. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
Social Media Cookies: These cookies are used when you share information using a social media sharing button on the Sites. The social network will record that you have done this. This information may be linked to targeting/advertising activities.
Targeting/Advertising Cookies: These cookies are used to deliver advertising more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaigns. They are usually placed by advertising networks with our permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
Your Choices About Cookies
We require your consent for cookies to be placed on your device as you visit our Sites. You have the right to decide whether or not to accept cookies. However, they are an important part of how our Sites work, so you should be aware that if you choose to refuse or remove cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of the Sites.
You can manage your browser settings to withdraw your consent to our use of cookies at any time and delete cookies that have already been set.
The website www.allaboutcookies.org contains comprehensive information about the process of opting out on different browsers.
If you are in the EU and would like to opt out of third party cookies relating to behavioural advertising, please go to www.youronlinechoices.eu . Opting out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. It does mean that the company or companies from which you opted out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your web preferences and usage patterns.
In the US, the Network Advertising Initiative offers a means to opt out of a number of advertising cookies. Please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices / to learn more.
The web team is responsible for cookies at Paraqon. If you have queries about our use of cookies, you can contact them at info@paraqon.com
