How It Works

We have gone to leading granite suppliers that are capable of receiving electronic stencil cutting instructions. We have asked them to provide carving and lettering rates based on square foot charges for the face of the memorial along with a list of items they need to charge extra for. Because we provide the design work and stencil cutting instructions we expect these rates to be lower than what they would charge if a dealer ordered direct.

We have created a website that allows the retail monument dealer to design standard memorials in real time in front of the customer and print out the design for approval. If he is designing a non-standard or special order memorial he can order a full color drawing on line. Either way, a Purchase Order for the granite supplier and a Sales Contract based on the profit margins the dealer has established, are immediately available to print out for the sale. Once sold, the dealer can submit the Purchase Order over the website. This order shows all of the costs that the supplier will charge to produce the lettered memorial. Upon receipt, we make any changes noted on the drawing and fax a Final Approval Drawing back to the dealer. When he faxes that back we immediately forward the Purchase Order, Final Approval, and Stencil Instructions to the granite supplier. Once completed, the memorial is shipped and billed directly to the dealer.

We recognize that, based on local customs and cemetery restrictions, retail dealers will offer different styles, sizes, and colors. That is no problem. The dealer simply tells us the styles, sizes, and colors he normally sells as standard memorials. We load his design tools with this information. That way he is only selecting from what he normally sells and not hundreds of possible choices. We provide a Design Album containing a wide range of designs that will meet most needs. However, if a dealer has certain designs that he would like to have available, we can add these to his selection.

We have no preference for a particular granite supplier. Every one on the list is a reputable, well known company. The retailer simply tells us which colors he chooses to buy from which supplier. Then when he selects that color all of the costs for that supplier are used in determining his total cost for the memorial.

Because there are different freight companies in different granite regions, the dealer can choose which shipper he wants to use from each region. That company's rates are then factored into the total memorial cost.

Once the colors, styles, sizes, granite suppliers, shippers, and standardized setting charges are determined for standard memorials, we prepare memorial cost sheets for the retailer. Based on these he can decide how much he wants to make on each. He can choose a different markup for each color, enabling him to mark up the lower cost granites higher than the expensive ones. We then print retail price pages for him. Using this system he knows exactly what any memorial will cost and how much he will make when he sells it.