You shop online for everything else, why not a cremation urn? You may think that such an important purchase should be made in person, but there are many benefits to buying urns for ashes online vs. at a funeral home:
- When you shop at a web store for memorial products, there are cost savings because you are purchasing direct.
- You will find a much larger range of choices -- most funeral homes can only stock a limited amount of options.
- It can be more convenient to shop online -- with your cremation urn or commemorative items shipping right to your door.
- A huge advantage to buying cremation urns online is that far-flung family members can be involved in the urn choice. For example, you can 'share' from any of our product pages -- emailing a product to family members. Or families can get on the internet and look at certain urns by name either together or on their own time and give feedback to the group
Top six tips for online urn shopping:
1. Think about basic urn requirements of size and final placement. Important questions include: Do I need a size other than a standard adult size urn (person was very tall or family plans to divide ashes, etc.)? Where will the urn be placed (cemetery plot, kept at home, niche)? The answer to the urn placement question might narrow down your list to urns with certain dimensions (Some places of worship have niches that may restrict the height or width -- see photo). Do you have to fly with or transport the urn? (See FAQ page for TSA guidelines on transporting urns on airplanes).
2. Designate one family member to narrow down your choices to 3-4 cremation urns for the rest of the family decision-makers to consider. Once narrowed down, it is easy to share those urns via email or web links.
3. Go ahead and use the online urn store's customer service. At Stardust Memorials, it is important to us that our customers feel comfortable with the memorial product they are purchasing. We are here to answer your questions and help you select the cremation urn that best suits your family. Go ahead -- call or email! You aren't alone -- Most people have never purchased an urn before. Feel free to ask questions about size, types of urns, what to engrave. Helpful staff at online urn companies are standing by and answer these questions all day every day.
4. Know your time frame. If you are working with a short time frame (for example the memorial service is in 48 hours), call the company to make sure they can engrave quickly and have the ship options to get it to you when you need it.
5. Consider upgrading to expedited shipping for peace of mind. Many families mention that having the urn on hand -- and making sure it matches what they expected -- is comforting and one less worry before a memorial or funeral service. At Stardust Memorials, it is only $50 for next business day service in continental U.S. of any urn we sell.
6. Make it memorable with the urn choice or the personalization. The urn is one of the final purchases you will ever make for a loved one. If he appreciated woodworking, pick a distinctive wood urn. If she always wore bright colors, find an urn for ashes in pink or turquoise. If you choose a traditional urn, consider engraving it with artwork that might fit the loved one (fishing, angel, heart, butterfly). All funeral homes in the U.S. accept urns (and are used to accepting urns) purchased by families online due to federal trade law. Don't be shy about picking out and bringing in an urn that is meaningful to the person whether it is a camo urn or a hand blown artistic glass urn.
The answer to the question 'Where can I buy urns for ashes?' could be an online urn store. Internet shopping for a cremation urn -- with the savings available and the wide selection of choices -- may be the best way to find the perfect tribute for that special person you wish to memorialize.
More information on selecting urns on our FAQ page
Related Blog Posts: Two simple rules for choosing a cremation urn