I sure didn’t? I bet you didn’t either!

But apparently, we’ve been pegged by PC Magazine as a bunch of unscrupulous small businesses owners. Instead of spending our days creating the products we love, changing diapers, teaching our preschoolers how to read and answering boatloads of customer service emails, we’re actually sitting back waiting for someone to enter their email address so we can sell it.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I have no idea who would want to buy my client’s email addresses. I don’t even want to know who would want to do that.

I have also take the necessary precautions to protect my client’s data — and my client’s customer’s private data, including using PCI complaint servers and scripts, encrypting my client database, using strong passwords and an SSL connection.

My friend Lynette from Tech Based Marketing quotes PC Magazine software expert Neil J. Rubenking:

When you buy something at a small, lesser-known online store, there’s a decent change they will sell your address to spammers … Sign up for a newsletter? Your address could certainly get sold.

What?! As I pointed out before — how many of us even know how to sell an address? Most of us are just trying to figure out how to setup our store, run our business, sell our products and make however much money we need to cover costs and make a small profit. We’re more concerned with providing our customers with customer service and a product that they will love, than with figuring out how to sell a few hundred email addresses.

Talk about lumping a bunch of honest small business owners in with a bunch of unscrupulous scammers who really have no interest in running a legitimate business.

Another friend, Alice Seba, remarks in the comments area of Lynette’s site:

Morals and ethics aside, I don’t think most smaller online retailers are aware of or would know how to get into the lucrative opportunity of selling personal information. It’s the big companies that know and do this, unless they explicitly state they don’t.

For the record Lynette, I don’t think it’s illegal to do so. I think it becomes illegal if you state you don’t, but do anyway.

Interesting point, huh?

I take great care with my client’s information, because I am one of them. I am a WAHM, too. I know what it means to have your information leaked. I would not do this.

It’s the big companies, as Alice says, with their inch-thick terms of use that collect millions of names — and then suddenly you start receiving all kinds of junk.

That’s my opinion. And I see it’s shared by Lynette and Alice.

What do you think? What has your experience been?

Have you had a small product-selling business sell your information? Have you had a large business do this? Would love to hear your stories.

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