Remember that you can view the full text of all of these publications for free by clicking on their titles. ONLY IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE PRINTED COPIES, DO YOU NEED TO PLACE AN ORDER.

Ordering printed copies of our publications online is easy: You can browse the categories, select publications you'd like to receive, provide your name and address, and submit payment. If you're not used to placing orders online, or aren't sure what to do, this section answers your questions and takes you through the process step by step.

Here we go:

The publications listed the Consumer Information Catalog are divided into categories: Children, Food & Nutrition, Money, and so on. They're separated the same way online.

• Click on a category on the menu bar. Descriptions of all publications listed in the current Catalog under that heading will be displayed (at this point you can view a specific publication by clicking on its title). If you'd like a printed copy, click the checkbox next to the publication description (click it a second time if you change your mind and want to unselect it).

• Once you've checked all the publications you want in that particular category, click on the button "Add/View Items in Your Cart." If you don't do this, your selections from that category will not be recorded and will not appear on your order form.

IMPORTANT: If you've checked publications to order, don't leave the category before clicking on the "Add/View Items in Your Cart" button. This will not place an order, only update your order form. Until you specifically authorize payment at the end of your session, you can change, add, or delete publications, or cancel the whole order.

• After clicking on "Add/View Items in Your Cart", you'll be shown a list of all the items you've selected. To go to a different category, click "continue shopping."

• The "continue shopping" button will return you to the category you just left. Select a new category from the blue menu bar at the top or bottom of the page. Keep doing this until you've visited all the categories you're interested in.

• After you've selected all the publications you plan to order, and have clicked "Add/View Items in Your Cart," review your order carefully. Enter the number of copies of a particular sales publication you'd like to receive (you're limited to one copy of each free publication), or remove any publication from the list altogether.

• Once you're satisfied with your order, click "complete order".
  
  Prodigy users NOTE:
  
  We have had reports that the browser used by some Prodigy members does not show the "complete order" button. If you can't upgrade your browser, you may have to place your order via our toll-free telephone order line at 1 (888) 878-3256 (9:00 - 8:00 e.t. M-F) or mail your order and payment to: Consumer Information Center, Dept. WWW, Pueblo, CO 81009. We are trying to fix this problem and apologize for the inconvenience.

• Scroll down and fill in the information requested: name, address, etc. Your phone number is required so that if any problems with your order arise, we can get in touch with you. If you enter an e-mail address, a confirmation of your order will be sent to that address.

• After filling in this information, click on "continue to payment selection."

• You now have two choices. To pay by credit card, fill in your card type, number, and expiration date, then click "Click here to authorize this charge to your credit card." Or, scroll down farther and click "Display Order Form." You can then print out the form and mail it, along with payment, to the address given.

• If you decide not to place an order, click on the "discontinue transaction" button to clear your information and return to the CIC Home Page.

CIC Order Policies

• At this time only publications listed in the current Catalog may be ordered online.
• While there is no charge for individual free publications, there is a $2.00 service fee to help defray program costs. That $2.00 allows you to order as many of our free publications as you wish.
• Payment can be charged to your VISA, MasterCard, or Discover Card.
• Please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery.
• We work with more than 40 publishing agencies and organizations to ensure that copies of all of the publications listed in the Catalog are always available. However, despite our best efforts, sometimes publications do go out-of-stock. If the condition is temporary, we note "Out-of-Stock" on the order form. You can view the text of the publication but you will have to check back later to see if stock has been received. If for some reason, we do not expect to receive any more copies of the publication to distribute, we note "Electronic Version Only" and you can view the text of the item.
• Quantity Discount: If you order 100 or more copies of a single sales booklet, a discount of 25% is allowed (and will be reflected on your order). Discounts do not apply to 50¢ booklets.
• International Orders: To cover extra handling costs for shipments outside of the United States, we will add 25% of the total sales price to your order. Currently, this is not being shown on your order but will be assessed when the order is filled at our Pueblo distribution facility.

Is It Safe?

Worried about sending personal information over the Internet? We recognize your concerns and have provided a system to protect and safeguard your data.

That's the simple answer in English. Here it is again in techno-speak. When you submit your online order, the information you provide is encrypted using a data security protocol. This protocol, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), provides data encryption, server authentication, message integrity, and optional client authentication for a TCP/IP connection. This ensures that no part of your order information can be read in transit.

What all this means is that ordering on this system is as safe as handing your credit card to a waiter or store clerk. However, if you would prefer not to send personal information over the Internet, there is an option at the end of the ordering process to print out the completed order form and mail it to us or call us toll-free at 1-888-878-3256 (M-F, 9:00 am to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time) with your order and payment information.

Is it Private?

We understand that visitors to our site (www.pueblo.gsa.gov) have legitimate concerns about what we do with information that you supply or that is gathered through the use of log files or "cookies" when you browse our site. Our pledge:

WE WILL NOT SHARE OR SELL ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM YOU WITH ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION.

What, How, Why, and When?

There are two types of information that we may obtain about you or your visit to our website:

1. Personal Information: The only personal information that we obtain about you is that which you decide to give us by placing an order for our Catalog, ordering publications from our Catalog, or sending us an e-mail comment or question. To complete these transactions, you may supply the following types of information: name, mailing address, telephone number, credit card number, e-mail address, and publication preferences. We use this information to fulfill your order/request.

   When we receive your order, it is processed through the same secure systems we use to process the thousands of mail orders we receive each day. A copy of your order, with payment information, will be retained at our Pueblo distribution facility so that we can track and resolve any problems that may occur. On a regular basis, once the order is processed, we delete any payment information you've provided from our electronic records. We will retain your name and address so we can mail you a new Catalog in the future.

2. Visit Information: We use logfiles and "cookies," to gather information for two purposes:
   
   

   1. When you enter our site we collect and store in a logfile the following information about your visit:

      • the name of the domain from which you access the Internet (i.e., aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account);
      • the date and time you access our site; and
      • the address of the web site from which you linked to our site.

      This information is used to determine site usage and to determine how we can improve the services provided. Also, when you come to our web site, the web server checks your cookie files to see if you have visited our site before. If it doesn't find a cookie from us, it issues one which records the time and date of your visit. When you return to this site, the cookie is sent back to the web server showing that you have previously visited our site. We use this information to create summary statistics, which are used for web site planning and maintenance and to analyze system performance. This information tells us the number of visitors to the different sections of our site and helps us understand if our site is meeting the needs of our visitors. It contains no personal information and is used for statistical purposes only.

   2. The only other time that we use cookies to gather information is when you enter the shopping portion of our web site. The software we use for online ordering issues cookies to keep track of your order information while you move between different areas on our web site. This makes it possible for you to go to different categories and to view publications, either on or off our site, and the order information previously submitted will be retained for you to complete your publication order.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is simply a small piece of information. They’re sent by a Web server, along with a Web page, to your browser when you access a Web site.

If your browser accepts the cookie, its data is usually stored in a file on your local hard drive. Then when you return to the site that issued the cookie, the Web server checks this file to determine if you’ve visited the site before.

Note: A Web server can only retrieve information from a cookie it created. It can’t look at other cookies to gather more information.

Cookies can serve several purposes:

• Show that you’ve previously visited a site;
• Be used by different programs (such as our shopping software) to increase the usefulness of features on the site;
• Present Web pages you customize.

Some people don’t like the idea of a Web site gathering information about them and/or writing data to their computer. You can set your browser to warn you when a cookie is requested, and decide whether or not to accept. Be aware, though, that by rejecting a cookie some or all of the features available on the site may not function properly.

Help!

If you have problems using, or suggestions to improve, our online ordering system, please e-mail us at cic.shop@gsa.gov.

If you prefer to place an order by phone, our friendly staff at Pueblo will be happy to take your order. The toll-free telephone number is 1-888-878-3256 and is staffed Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.