Europe's specialist marketplace for collectible model aircraft
Model Plane Zone

Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Model Plane Zone (MPZ)

Last updated: 13 October 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what we do with your personal data when you use Model Plane Zone. We keep it in plain English and short sentences, because many of our users do not have English as their first language. If anything is unclear, please ask us at support@modelplanezone.nl.

1. Who we are

Model Plane Zone ("MPZ", "we", "us") is an online marketplace where people buy and sell collectible model aircraft, kits, spare parts and related items.

MPZ is run by Julius Lawrence Matthew Mason as a sole proprietorship (eenmanszaak) in the Netherlands. He is the "controller" of your personal data. That means he decides how and why it is used.

  • Trading name: Model Plane Zone / MPZ
  • Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number: 99213974
  • Postal address: Nieuwe Achtergracht 69-3, 1018 WL Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Email for privacy questions and requests: support@modelplanezone.nl

We have not appointed a Data Protection Officer. Our size and the way we work do not require one. The email above reaches the person responsible for data protection at MPZ.

2. The short version

  • We use your data to run the marketplace: your account, listings, checkout, payments, shipping, messages, issues and support.
  • When you buy, the seller gets your name and delivery address so they can send your parcel.
  • Payments go through Stripe. Shipping labels go through Sendcloud. Our site runs on Render and Amazon Web Services.
  • We only use Google Analytics and Google Ads cookies if you say yes in the cookie banner.
  • We advertise listings on Google Shopping. For that, Google gets listing details, not buyer data.
  • We keep tax records for 7 years, because Dutch law says so. Other data we keep for shorter periods, listed in section 19.
  • You can ask to see, correct or delete your data, and you can complain to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

3. What MPZ is

MPZ is a place where buyers and sellers find each other, agree a sale, pay and arrange delivery. The sale is between the buyer and the seller.

4. Who is responsible for what

MPZ is the controller for running the marketplace: accounts, listings, search, messages, offers, checkout, payouts, shipping labels, reviews, support, safety, reviewing issues between buyers and sellers, and the records the law makes us keep.

Sellers receive buyer details to complete a sale. For their own use of that data (packing, posting, their own records and legal duties) each seller is a separate controller and is responsible for it. Our Terms and Seller Terms say sellers may use buyer data only for that sale.

Stripe processes payments and checks sellers' identity. For payment processing, identity checks, fraud prevention and its own legal duties, Stripe is a separate controller.

Carriers (such as PostNL, DHL, DPD and UPS) deliver parcels as separate controllers.

Google is a separate controller for Google Ads, Google Shopping and Google sign-in. By placing the Google tag on our site we are responsible for collecting that data and sending it to Google; Google is responsible for what it does with the data after that.

Meta and X are separate controllers when you choose to sign in with them.

Our other providers work for us as "processors". They may only use your data on our instructions and under a contract with us. Section 17 names them.

5. The personal data we collect

What we hold depends on how you use MPZ.

Account. Your first and last name, email address, and the password you set (stored only in scrambled form, as a "hash"). The date you accepted our Terms. Your settings, saved addresses, favourites, followed stores and saved searches. If you sign in with Google, Facebook or X, see section 14.

Login and security. When you sign in, we store a session record with your IP address and browser type, so we can keep you signed in and spot misuse.

Seller data. Your store name, description, logo and banner, your country, a phone number, and a sender address for shipping labels. Business sellers also give their city, VAT number and legal business details. The phone number is required to open a store. We use it to check that one person does not open several stores, and we pass it to Stripe to help set up your payout account. We may also use it to send you texts or calls about your orders, issues, parcels and payouts, such as an automatic payout of your balance.

Listings. Titles, descriptions, prices, condition, model details, tail numbers and photos. Listings, store pages and reviews are public, and search engines and Google Shopping can show them. Please do not put personal details in a listing or photo.

Orders. Order numbers and dates, the items and prices, fees, the delivery name and address or pickup point, your phone number for delivery messages from the carrier, payment and delivery status, tracking codes, and any cancellation, return, refund, issue or dispute. If you check out as a guest, we also keep your email address. Guest orders get a private link in your email. If you later create an account and confirm the same email address, or sign in with it, your guest orders move into that account.

Payments. From Stripe we get a payment reference, the amount, the payment status, and any refund, dispute or chargeback. We never see or store your full card number. For sellers, we get from Stripe only whether your payout account is set up and whether Stripe still needs details from you.

Messages and offers. Messages you send through MPZ, offers and offer notes, with sender, recipient and time.

Returns and issues. What you tell us when you raise an issue, photos you add, the signed statement we ask for when a parcel did not arrive (your name, what happened and the date, saved as a PDF), the other party's reply, our review and the outcome. We show what you tell us to the other party so they can respond, and we give the photos and statement to the carrier when we file a claim.

Reviews. Your rating and comment. They show with your first name and the first letter of your last name.

Support and reports. What you send through the contact form or by email, and any reports you make about a listing or store.

Technical data. Your IP address, browser type and the pages you visit. Our server uses your IP address to work out your country, for shipping prices and for our visit counter, and keeps only the two-letter country code. If you allow cookies, also the data described in section 13 and our Cookie Statement. On a day you place an order, the pages you visited that day are linked to your order (section 13).

Safety records. Reports by or about you, messages our filter blocked (we record the type, such as "phone number"), account restrictions, and a log of when our team opened a conversation and why.

We do not ask for special category data (such as health, religion or political views). Please do not send it. Please also never put ID documents, passwords or bank details in a listing or message.

6. Where the data comes from

Most data comes from you: when you sign up, open a store, list an item, buy, send a message, raise an issue or contact us.

Some comes from others: a buyer or seller in the same order, someone who reports a listing, Stripe (payment and payout status), Sendcloud and carriers (tracking), and Google, Meta or X if you sign in with them.

Some is collected automatically when you use the site (section 13).

7. Why we use your data, and our legal basis

The law (the GDPR, in Dutch the AVG) says we need a legal basis for each use. "Contract" below means your agreement with MPZ to use the marketplace.

Running your account and the marketplace: accounts, listings, search, favourites, messages, offers, coupons and promotions, reviews, checkout and support. Basis: contract.

Completing sales: passing details between buyer and seller, taking payment, making labels, tracking, releasing payouts, handling returns, refunds and chargebacks, and reviewing and deciding issues between buyer and seller. Basis: contract.

Keeping records the law requires: bookkeeping and tax records, and DAC7 seller reporting (section 16). Basis: legal obligation.

Keeping MPZ safe: securing accounts, blocking contact details and links in messages, stopping phishing and fraud, checking that one person does not run several stores, handling reports, moderating content, and logging our own access to conversations. Basis: our legitimate interest in a safe marketplace where trades stay on the platform, which also protects you.

Service messages: account, security, order, shipping, payout and issue emails, and for sellers texts or calls about these. Basis: contract.

Counting visits, and linking a day's visits to an order: see section 13. Basis: our legitimate interest in knowing how the site is used, which pages lead to sales, and in solving checkout and payment problems.

Analytics and ad measurement with cookies: Google Analytics and Google Ads (sections 12 and 13). Basis: your consent.

Advertising listings on Google Shopping: sending listing details to Google (section 12). Basis: our legitimate interest in promoting the marketplace and sellers' items, which is also in sellers' interest.

Newsletter: only if you sign up, once we offer one. Basis: your consent. You can unsubscribe in every newsletter.

Legal claims: dealing with disputes, collecting money owed, defending claims. Basis: our legitimate interest.

Where we rely on legitimate interest, we have weighed our interest against yours. You can object (section 21).

8. Payments

Payments are handled by Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe Ltd, Ireland). When you pay, you go to Stripe's own checkout page. We send Stripe your email address, the items and the amounts. Stripe handles your card or bank details. Stripe's own privacy policy applies to its page.

Sellers get their own Stripe account through MPZ. We give Stripe the store owner's email, phone number, store name, country and store link. Stripe then asks the seller directly for name, date of birth, address, phone, bank account and sometimes an ID document. Stripe uses this for identity checks, fraud prevention and its own legal duties. We do not receive the documents, only whether the account is ready.

9. Shipping

When MPZ buys a shipping label through Sendcloud (Sendcloud B.V., the Netherlands), we send Sendcloud the buyer's name, delivery address or pickup point, phone number and email address, the seller's store name and sender address, the order number, the parcel value and size. Sendcloud passes this to the carrier you chose. The carrier uses the phone number and email to send delivery or pickup notices, such as the expected delivery time. Tracking updates come back to us and decide when the seller's payout is released.

If a seller ships without Sendcloud, the seller uses the delivery details from their order page.

10. What buyers and sellers see of each other

The seller sees: the buyer's name and delivery address (or the chosen pickup point), the items, the order and shipping details, and messages and issues about the order. The seller does not get the buyer's phone number, email address or payment details from us.

The buyer sees: the store name and country, the seller's reviews and badges, the order and tracking details, and for business sellers the business details the law requires. The seller's sender address is printed on the shipping label.

Data received for a sale may only be used for that sale: shipping, returns, contact about the order, and the seller's own legal duties. A seller who misuses buyer data breaks our rules, and we can restrict or remove them.

11. Messages and moderation

Messages are stored by MPZ and are not end-to-end encrypted. Please treat them as moderated, not private.

Automatic filter. Before a message is sent, our filter checks it for phone numbers, email addresses and web links (except links to MPZ). If it finds one, the message is not sent and we record the type of detail found. After 3 blocked attempts, your ability to send free-text messages is switched off automatically. You can still send and answer offers. Our team is told when this happens. If you think it was a mistake, email us and a person will look at it.

Human access. Only MPZ's administrators can open a conversation, and only when it is needed: to answer a support request, check a report, stop fraud, review an issue or answer a legal request. Every time a conversation is opened, this is logged. We do not read messages routinely.

12. Advertising on Google

We advertise MPZ and its listings on Google, including Google Shopping.

Product feed. We send Google Merchant Center a feed of active listings: title, description, photos, price, condition, brand and item code, a link to the listing, and an internal code for the seller (not your name or email). Google uses it to show listings in Shopping ads and free listings. This is seller content that is already public on MPZ. Basis: our legitimate interest in promoting the marketplace and sellers' items.

Measuring our ads. If you accept marketing cookies, the Google Ads tag on our site notes that you came from one of our ads. When you then place an order, we tell Google that a purchase happened, with the order reference and the order value. We do not send your name, email, address or the items you bought. Basis: your consent.

Ads for MPZ on other sites (remarketing). If you accept marketing cookies, Google may add you to a list of people who visited MPZ, based on the pages and listings you viewed, and show you ads for MPZ and its listings on other websites and apps. We do not give Google your name or email for this. Basis: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time through "Cookie settings".

For ads, Google acts as a separate controller under its own terms and privacy policy (policies.google.com/privacy). Google may process data in the United States (section 18).

13. Analytics, cookies and our visit counter

Necessary cookies keep you signed in, remember your cart and your cookie choice, and protect sign-in. They do not need consent.

Google Analytics (analytics cookies) shows us how the site is used: which pages are visited, what is searched for and viewed, and whether an order was placed (with order reference and value). It runs only if you say yes. Google processes this for us under Google's data processing terms. Google may process data in the United States.

Google Ads (marketing cookies): see section 12. Only with your yes.

If you say no, none of the Google tags load and the site works normally. You can change your choice at any time through "Cookie settings" at the bottom of every page. The Cookie Statement lists every cookie, what it does and how long it lasts.

Our own visit counter. We count visits ourselves, without cookies and without storing anything on your device. For each page view we record:

  • the day, the page, and the website that sent you (only its name, for example youtube.com);
  • whether you use a phone or a computer, and whether you were signed in (not which account);
  • your country, which our server works out from your IP address (we keep only the two-letter country code);
  • a code made from your IP address and browser type mixed with a random key.

The key changes every day and the old key is deleted, so visits on different days can never be linked to each other. We never store your IP address for this. A small script on the page also notes which buttons, links and form fields are clicked (by their name, for example "Show more", never what you type), roughly where on the page, and how far down each page you scroll.

When you place an order. After you pay, you land on your order confirmation page, whose web address contains a code for your order. When a visit opens that page, we link that day's page views under the same code to your order. This shows us which pages and which website led to the order, whether you paid during that visit or came back to your order later, and where a checkout or payment went wrong. The MPZ team can then see your order, including your name and address, next to those page views. We only link visits through the confirmation page you opened, and only for that day. We do not store your account or email address in the visit data, and visits on other days cannot be linked. Clicks and scrolling are never linked to an order.

We use the counter only for our own statistics and, where visits are linked to an order, for customer service. We do not use it to build a profile of you, for ads or for automated decisions, and we do not share it. Visits from the MPZ team are not counted.

Basis. Dutch law allows the script without your consent, because we use it only for our own statistics and it has little or no impact on your privacy (article 11.7a(3)(b) of the Telecommunicatiewet). For recording page views, and for linking a day's page views to your order, our basis is our legitimate interest in understanding which pages lead to sales and in solving checkout and payment problems (article 6(1)(f) GDPR). We weighed this against your interests: the link covers one day only, only the MPZ team sees it, it is never used for ads, and we keep it for a short time (section 19).

Your right to object. You can object at any time by emailing us with your order number. We then remove the link between your visits and your order and delete the linked page views. The general visit counts cannot be traced back to you after the day itself.

Server logs. Our host Render records technical logs of requests, including IP addresses, to run and secure the service. They are kept for 7 days.

14. Signing in with Google, Facebook or X

You can sign in with Google, Facebook (Meta) or X instead of a password. If you do, that provider tells us your name, email address and profile picture, and gives us a sign-in token. We use the token only to confirm your sign-in and never to access anything else in your account with that provider. If your Google or Facebook email matches an existing MPZ account, we link the two.

The provider will know that you signed in to MPZ. It handles that as a separate controller under its own privacy policy. Meta and X may process data in the United States. You do not have to use these options.

15. Translation

We do not offer translation at the moment. If we add it, we will update this policy before it goes live.

16. Tax reporting of sellers (DAC7)

EU law (Directive 2021/514, "DAC7", in Dutch law the Wet op de internationale bijstandsverlening bij de heffing van belastingen) makes platforms like MPZ collect and report seller data to the Belastingdienst (the Dutch tax authority). This applies to sellers with 30 or more sales, or more than EUR 2,000 in sales, in a calendar year.

For those sellers we will ask for: full name, address, date of birth, tax identification number (for Dutch sellers this is the BSN), bank account (IBAN), and for business sellers the KvK and VAT numbers. We report this with the number of sales, the amounts and our fees per quarter. The Belastingdienst can share it with tax authorities in other EU countries.

You have to give this information. If you do not give it within 60 days and after two reminders, we must hold back your payouts or close your store. Basis: legal obligation. We tell you before we report your data, and we send you a copy of what we reported.

17. Who receives your data

We share personal data only as far as needed.

Our processors (they work for us under a contract):

  • Render (Render Services, Inc.): hosting of the website and database, servers in Frankfurt, Germany.
  • Amazon Web Services (Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL, Luxembourg): storage of photos (S3, region eu-central-1, Frankfurt, Germany), fast delivery of images (CloudFront) and sending of emails (SES).
  • Sendcloud B.V. (the Netherlands): shipping labels and tracking.
  • Google (Google Ireland Ltd): Google Analytics, only with your consent.
  • Google Workspace (Google Ireland Ltd): our email, including the support mailbox.

Separate controllers (they decide for themselves):

  • Sellers and buyers in your order (section 10).
  • Stripe: payments and seller checks (section 8).
  • Carriers such as PostNL, DHL, DPD and UPS: delivery.
  • Google: Google Ads, Google Shopping and Google sign-in (sections 12 and 14).
  • Meta and X: sign-in, if you use it (section 14).
  • Our accountant and, where needed, lawyers.
  • Authorities, such as the Belastingdienst, the police or a court, where the law requires or allows it.
  • A buyer of MPZ, if the business is ever sold, under the same protections.

We do not sell your personal data.

18. Data outside the EU

We keep our main data in the EU (Frankfurt). Some providers are American companies or may process data in the United States: Render, Amazon Web Services, Stripe, Google, Meta and X. AWS CloudFront can deliver images from servers near you, which may be outside the EU.

For these transfers we rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework where the provider is certified under it; the European Commission has decided that certified US companies protect data adequately. Where a provider is not certified, and as a backstop in every case, the provider's contract includes the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses. You can ask us for a copy of the safeguards.

19. How long we keep data

We keep data only as long as we need it. Then we delete it or make it anonymous.

  • Account data: while your account is open. After you ask us to delete it, we anonymise it within one month, once no order of yours is still open.
  • Accounts whose email address was never confirmed: deleted after 30 days, unless the account has an order, store, message, offer, review or issue.
  • Login sessions (with IP address and browser): until they expire, plus 30 days.
  • Order, payment, fee and payout records, including the delivery name and address: 7 years from the end of the year they relate to, as Dutch tax and bookkeeping law requires (article 52 AWR and article 3:15i BW).
  • Messages and offers: 2 years after the last message in a conversation, longer if needed for a dispute or report.
  • Returns and issues: 2 years after they are closed.
  • Blocked-message records: 1 year.
  • Listings and their photos: while the listing is live. A sold listing and its photos are kept with the order record for 7 years, as evidence of what was sold. A listing removed without a sale is kept for 2 years in non-public form. Copies in search engines or Google Shopping may stay a while longer.
  • Reviews: while the store exists. If you delete your account, your name is removed from your reviews.
  • Store phone number and sender address: until the store is closed and its last order is finished.
  • DAC7 seller data and reports: 7 years after the end of the year reported.
  • Support emails and reports: 2 years.
  • Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.
  • Visit counter: the daily key is deleted after one day. Page views are kept for 25 months, and clicks and scrolling for 6 months. Where a day's page views are linked to an order, the link is kept for 90 days; after that we remove the order number and only the unlinked page views remain.
  • Google Analytics data: event data 2 months, user data 14 months, as set in Google Analytics.
  • Your cookie choice: 1 year on your device.
  • Backups: overwritten within 3 days.

If something is needed for an open dispute, a legal claim or an investigation, we keep it until that is finished.

20. How we protect your data

We use measures that fit the risk. Data travels encrypted (HTTPS). Passwords are stored as a hash. Only MPZ's administrators can use admin tools, and their access to conversations is logged. We choose providers that meet EU security standards and have a contract with them.

No online service is perfectly secure. Please use a strong password that you use nowhere else, and tell us quickly at support@modelplanezone.nl if you think someone got into your account.

If a data breach happens, we report it to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens within 72 hours when the law requires it. If it is likely to put you at high risk, we also tell you directly.

21. Your rights

You have the right to:

  • See the data we hold about you and get a copy.
  • Correct data that is wrong.
  • Have your data deleted. Some data we must or may keep, for example tax records, data about an open order, or data we need for a dispute (section 19).
  • Limit how we use your data in some cases.
  • Object to uses based on our legitimate interest. We then stop, unless we have strong reasons that outweigh yours or need the data for a legal claim. You can always object to direct marketing.
  • Get the data you gave us in a common digital format, or have it sent to another company.
  • Withdraw your consent at any time, for example for cookies or the newsletter. This does not affect what we did before.
  • Ask a person to look again at an automatic decision, such as messaging being switched off (section 11).

To use a right, email support@modelplanezone.nl. You can also ask for account deletion in your account settings. We may ask you to confirm your identity. We answer within one month. If a request is complex, we may take two more months and will tell you why.

If you are not happy, you can complain to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl), or to the data protection authority where you live or work. You do not have to contact us first, but we would like the chance to help.

22. Do you have to give us your data?

You need to give your name and email to create an account, and a delivery address and phone number to buy. If you have an account, the phone number you give at checkout is saved to it and filled in next time; you can change or remove it in your account settings. Sellers need to give a phone number and a sender address, and Stripe needs their details before payouts. Sellers who reach the DAC7 limits must give the data in section 16 by law. Without this data we cannot provide that part of the service. Everything else, such as cookies for analytics and ads, the newsletter, or social sign-in, is your choice.

23. Age

MPZ is for adults aged 18 or over. A person under 18 may use MPZ only through an account that a parent or guardian creates and runs. The adult is then the account holder and is responsible for the account.

We do not check ages. If we learn that an account breaks this rule, we may close it and delete the data, except what we must keep. Parents can contact us at support@modelplanezone.nl.

24. Automated decisions

We do not make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you by automated means alone. Some things happen automatically: the message filter (section 11), the payout hold when an issue is raised and the payout release after delivery or a set number of days, seller badges, and Stripe's own fraud checks on payments. Issues between buyers and sellers are reviewed by a person. If you disagree with an automatic step, ask us and a person will look at it.

25. Changes to this policy

We update this policy when our service, providers or the law change. The date at the top shows the latest version. If a change matters to you, we tell you by email or with a notice on the site. If a new use needs your consent, we ask for it first.

26. Contact

Julius Lawrence Matthew Mason, trading as Model Plane Zone (MPZ), eenmanszaak

  • KvK number: 99213974
  • Address: Nieuwe Achtergracht 69-3, 1018 WL Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Email: support@modelplanezone.nl