Buying headstones online is a great way to save money in your time of need. We at Memorials.com hear stories nearly every day from customers whose cemeteries have quoted those prices hundreds or even thousands of dollars higher than those we are able to offer. Customers regularly ask if this dramatic price difference is a sign that cemeteries offer higher quality headstones than those available online, and we have two answers to that question.
First, headstones from Memorials.com come from one of the largest, most trusted, manufacturers in the United States, and this company also serves many – if not most – cemeteries in the nation. So, in many cases, when buying headstones online, customers are purchasing the very same product that is also available at a cemetery – for a substantially higher price.
This brings us to the second part of our answer: the reason for the price differences is a reflection of the history of the memorial industry. In years past, cemeteries (and funeral homes for that matter) held a monopoly like grip on the industry by requiring their customers to buy all accessories (headstones, caskets, etc.) from them. The prices of the accessories, therefore, often subsidized the cost of the traditional cemetery service and, typically, the customer – who simply paid one lump-sum bill -- never knew the itemized costs for each product or service.
In relatively recent years, however, the United States Federal Trade Commission, has required that cemeteries offer customers an itemized bill for all products and services, And cemeteries must also allow customers to buy their accessories elsewhere – such as from online dealers. These rules were intended to improve competition and thus lower prices of the accessories. But the intended effect seems still not to have taken full hold. While prices are generally much lower when customers buy headstones online, many cemeteries still hold to their traditional practices of charging a premium price for accessories in exchange for “one-stop shopping” convenience for customers.
While most cemeteries do not violate FTC laws by blatantly discouraging from buy headstones and other accessories elsewhere, they are also, of course, not prone to encourage customers to look elsewhere. So many customers, wanting to dispense with the emotionally difficult work of burial planning as quickly as possible, never even think of buying headstones online. There is no doubt, however, that many of these customers end up grimacing at the final price they pay their cemetery.
By taking just a few extra moments to find an Internet headstone dealer and buying a headstone online, you are not only saving yourself a lot of money; you are also helping to drive prices down for everyone. As more and more consumers begin opting to buying headstones online at substantial savings, cemeteries will certainly lower their prices to stay competitive.
In the end, the “one-stop shopping” convenience offered by cemeteries who sell headstones may have a little value, but online companies such as Memorials.com are also equally as concerned with customer service and make buying headstones online a very simple process. At Memorials.com, for example, a representative works personally with the cemetery on each order to assure that the headstone matches cemetery regulation and arrange for installation (which is usually charged separately by the cemetery). Buying a headstone online is typically very easy. All that’s required is, customer taken the time to look up a dealer on the Internet.
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