Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are / Data Controller

New Route International Exchange Co., Ltd. (trading as “Sovern House”) is the data controller for personal information collected through this website. We are registered in Taiwan. For privacy matters, contact us at info@sovernhouse.co.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect personal data only when you voluntarily provide it. The primary point of collection is our Request for Quote (RFQ) form, which collects:

• Full name
• Company name
• Email address
• Country
• Description of goods you wish to source (free text)
• Estimated quantity / order value (optional)
• Sourcing timeline (optional)

If you create a trade account (to see Ready Stock prices while signed in), we also collect:

• Your name, company, country and company website
• Your work email address
• A password, stored only as a one-way hash, never in readable form
• Your language, the wording and date of the email notice shown to you at sign-up, and the IP address the request came from

We also collect standard server log data (IP address, browser type, referring URL, pages visited) through our hosting infrastructure. We do not use cookies for advertising. We measure traffic with Vercel Web Analytics (cookieless, no personal data collected) and with Google Analytics 4, which records the pages viewed, the device type and an approximate location (country or region) against a random identifier. From the European Economic Area, the UK, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey or the Canadian province of Quebec, Google Analytics runs only if you accept analytics cookies; elsewhere it runs unless you decline them. We never send Google your name, email address or anything you type into a form. When you send an enquiry or request a trade account, we record how you found us with it: your answer to "How did you hear about us?" if you give one, any campaign tag (utm_) in the address of the page you arrived on, and the name of the website that referred you (never its full address). Between pages, this visit source is stored in your browser only when analytics may run (see our Cookie Policy); otherwise it is held only in the open page's memory, never written to your device, and is lost when you reload or leave the site.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use RFQ data solely to:

• Respond to your sourcing inquiry
• Create an inquiry record in our internal ERP system
• Send you an automatic acknowledgment email
• Conduct follow-up commercial communications related to your inquiry
• Record how you found us (section 2), to learn which of our channels bring enquiries

We use trade account data to:

• Check that the account belongs to a trade business before activating it (email domain, company website, sanctions and do-not-contact screening; accounts on free webmail addresses are reviewed by our team)
• Show you Ready Stock prices while you are signed in
• Record how you found us (section 2), to learn which of our channels bring trade accounts
• Send you emails about your account, and about ready stock and offers. Every offer email carries an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing stops them; you can also opt out at any time by writing to info@sovernhouse.co

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes. Trade account requests pass automated checks (email domain, company website, sanctions and do-not-contact screening). A request the checks hold or block is reviewed by our staff, who make the decision; no request is refused by a machine alone. We do not use your data for profiling.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR and UK GDPR)

If you are located in the European Union, the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the legal basis for processing your data is:

• Legitimate interest - to respond to your business inquiry (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR)
• Pre-contractual steps - where your inquiry is the first step toward a business agreement (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR)
• Contract - to run the trade account you asked for, including emails about that account (Article 6(1)(b) GDPR)
• Legitimate interest - to send trade account holders, as business contacts, emails about ready stock and offers (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can object at any time by unsubscribing from any of these emails
• Legitimate interest - to record how you found us with your enquiry or trade account request, so we know which channels reach buyers (Article 6(1)(f) GDPR)
• Consent - for analytics cookies (Google Analytics 4) and the stored visit source (sv_first_touch), which for visitors in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey and Quebec are set only if you accept them. You can withdraw consent at any time with Cookie Settings at the foot of every page (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR)

You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interest at any time by contacting info@sovernhouse.co.

5. Your Rights (EU/EEA, UK and Canada)

If you are in Canada, PIPEDA gives you the rights to access and correct your personal information and to withdraw your consent. If you are in the EU/EEA or the UK, you have the following rights under the GDPR and the UK GDPR:

• Access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification - request correction of inaccurate data
• Erasure - request deletion of your personal data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Restriction - request that we restrict processing of your data
• Portability - receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Objection - object to processing based on legitimate interest
• Complaint - lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, email info@sovernhouse.co. We will respond within 30 days.

6. Your Rights (CCPA - California Residents)

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides you with additional rights:

• Know - the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you
• Delete - request deletion of personal information we have collected
• Opt-out of sale - we do not sell personal information; no action required
• Non-discrimination - we will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights

To submit a CCPA request, contact info@sovernhouse.co.

7. Taiwan Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)

As a Taiwan-registered entity, we are subject to Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法). We collect and process personal data only within the scope necessary to respond to your inquiry and conduct our business. You have the right to access, correct, and request deletion of your personal data under Taiwan PDPA. Contact info@sovernhouse.co to exercise these rights.

8. Data Retention

RFQ and inquiry data is retained for 3 years from the date of submission, unless a business relationship is established, in which case data is retained for the duration of the relationship plus 7 years (to comply with Taiwan commercial record-keeping requirements). You may request earlier deletion by contacting us, subject to any legal retention obligations.

9. International Data Transfers

Your data may be processed on servers located outside your country of residence (including Taiwan and the United States via our hosting providers). Where data is transferred from the EU/EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards as required under GDPR. For details of specific transfer mechanisms, contact info@sovernhouse.co.

10. Third-Party Processors

We use the following categories of third-party services that may process personal data on our behalf:

• Vercel - website hosting (servers in the US/EU)
• Resend / Postmark - transactional email delivery
• Cloudflare Turnstile - bot protection on the trade account sign-up form
• Internal ERP system - inquiry and order management (self-hosted)
• Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC) - website traffic measurement (servers in the US and elsewhere); in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey and Quebec only with your consent

All processors are bound by appropriate data processing agreements.

11. Cookies

This Site uses strictly necessary cookies, including one that keeps you signed in to your trade account, and Google Analytics cookies: from the European Economic Area, the UK, Switzerland, Brazil, South Korea, Turkey or the Canadian province of Quebec only if you accept them, elsewhere unless you decline them. We do not use advertising cookies or third-party tracking pixels. See our Cookie Policy for full details.

12. Contact & Complaints

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights, email info@sovernhouse.co.

EU residents may also lodge a complaint with their national supervisory authority. A list of EU data protection authorities is available at edpb.europa.eu. UK residents may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk), and Canadian residents to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca).

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated by updating the date and, where required by law, by direct notification.