We’ve just added another video to our channel on YouTube. The newest video demonstrates our full line of cremation urns.
Archive for the ‘military urns’ Category
YouTube Video Showcasing Our Military Urns
October 14, 2011We’ve posted a new video on YouTube that showcases our line of cremation urns for the military. View it below:
Remember Your Veteran With a Military Urn
October 3, 2011In years past it used to be that people had limited choices as to how they could memorialize a loved one, especially a veteran. With respect to cremation urns, we as consumers had few unique options available to us that would more closely identify with the person being memorialized. With the Model “T” we could get any color we wanted, as long as it was black. Likewise, with cremation urns we had the standard fare of vase urns and some cubic urns, but they were more non-descript in their presentation. In the era of the Internet, however, that is no longer the case.
With the advent of the Internet and e-commerce opportunities for the smart shopper comes an expanded playing field of vendors, thereby increasing competition. As we all know, increased competition typically results in reduced prices while providing more purchasing options as vendors begin to specialize and service specific market niches. When vendors expand their product lines, the availability of cremation urns that are designed for specific tastes and applications also increases. The focus here is on one of these niches: cremation urns for military personnel.
Today, for military personnel there are a multitude of cremation urns available that range in size, style and finish. Significantly, there are cremation urn options available for veterans of all branches of the military, including Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. And specialization doesn’t end with just an urn for each branch. Consumers can now find military urns that are geared not only for a specific branch of the armed forces, but specialties within that branch. For instance, with respect to cremation urns for Navy personnel, consumers can also find urns that are specifically made for veterans who served in submarine operations or urns that highlight the core values of the Navy. These operation-specific or specialty military urns are most commonly available in the cubic urn style, designating the specialty with an applied representative appliqué. Cubic urns are commonly available in numerous colors and finishes to further personalize your memorial.
Customizing your memorial urn by selecting a specific urn style or appliqué that represents the branch of the armed forces for which a veteran was affiliated is just one way of adding a special touch. You can also tailor your veteran’s memorial further by engraving. The savvy consumer will take advantage of the free engraving or nameplate engraving that some cremation urn suppliers offer with their military urn collections. For those who wish to purchase a military cremation urn on a pre-need basis, you can simply inscribe the urn with the veteran’s name, their highest rank achieved, and even their dates of service.
Ordering online gives the consumer certain advantages that they can’t otherwise attain. Of course, their selection is much greater and with far more options to customize their soldier’s memorial available to them than they could otherwise find. For reasons which include lower overhead and volume purchasing, online vendors can oftentimes offer the consumer lower prices on equivalent products that they could find by conventional means. In some instances suppliers will even offer free ground shipping to further reduce your out-of-pocket cost.
As any spouse or family member of a veteran knows, a veteran’s time serving their country in the military holds special meaning to them, no matter how long ago they may have served. The experiences of that time in their lives is always with veterans, and more often than not they closely identify themselves with their service. Honoring your veteran with a personalized military urn, which commemorates both them and their time in the service, is a fitting tribute to your loved one and that which they held dear.
Quality Varies in Cremation Urns
December 31, 2009Savvy consumers strive to find quality products at competitive prices. To achieve this, many will employ the Internet to research products and seek out vendors from both traditional brick-and-mortar outlets and e-commerce alternatives. For cremation urns – as with any product – there are vast differences when it comes to product quality. With the many manufacturers that produce funeral urns being located all over the world, including India, China, and Turkey, the quality spectrum is even greater. Fortunately, individuals considering the purchase of cremation urns have the luxury of time when evaluating the multitude of products available to them.
The wary consumer should exercise care when evaluating products based on their photos when purchasing online. Because of their low resolution, web images can hide flaws. What may be insignificant flaws in finish or manufacture can often be masked by the limited resolution of the photos. Even without intention to be misleading by an online retailer, low resolution product photos still present a challenge to the consumer. To safeguard yourself make certain that the e-commerce vendor from whom you’re considering making a purchase provides the option to view enlarged photos of their products.
Something the online consumer cannot gauge from product photos – no matter how good – is the materials used in their manufacture. This is especially true for the cube-style or “cubic” cremation urns. There are various methods of manufacture, including fabrication (where the units are actually handmade and then finished) and casting. For the fabricated urns, one of the more significant variables is the thickness of the metal used. Urns made from metal that is .030″ thick is common. Urns of this thickness are very light and susceptible to waves formed during welding or brazing of the urn walls. Urns which are polished will exhibit this problem more predominantly than urns which are brushed for final finishing. Thinner walled urns also are vulnerable to dents during shipping. The thickness of fabricated urns are available in heavier gauges, as well, including .100″, which is over three times the thickness of the .030″ units. Since the thickness of the metal used in the urn is not usually provided in the product description, the consumer should look to the product’s weight to compare. As a general rule, the thicker the material, the heavier the unit. The product’s weight is a good indicator of the thickness of the metal used. In general, for equivalently sized urns, the heavier the urn, the thicker the material used during manufacture.
Design specifications and adherence to them during manufacture play a crucial role in a product’s overall quality. Again, this can be difficult to discern from a product photo. Since many fabricated urns (cube style) are handcrafted, adherence to specifications can vary considerably among the various manufacturers. Things to watch out for include the manufacturer’s care in adhering the baseplate mouting brackets. If the brackets are not mounted evenly at the specified points, the baseplate will be uneven and potentially cause the urn to sit lopsided when placed on a flat surface. Other factors of concern include the cut and bonding of the urn sides.
Consumers should pay special attention to the finish of the urn. As stated earlier, low-resolution product photos on the web can mask many of the flaws that can otherwise be readily seen in person. Watch out for poor quality lacquer coatings, which protect the urn from discoloration while providing an attractive finish. The consumer should also be aware that the color of finish of an urn (bronze, brass, stainless steel, etc.) may not be indicative of the material used to create the product. Instead, the urn may simply be plated. Though this is not necessarily an issue of concern, the consumer should still be aware of how the urn is manufactured. When evaluating plated products, pay close attention to the uniformity of the finish. If the plating is inadequate, the density of the finish color will vary. That, however, may not be readily apparent in a product photo.
When choosing the cremation option, the consumer has the added benefit of time. Take advantage of the time availed to you by researching both the vendors and their products prior to making a purchase.