I was at my local cemetery walking around with our local monument dealer when
he showed me a 'used' stone that he had purchased from another dealer,
trimmed it down on both sides to remove the previous inscriptions and
inscribed with the new names. Probably saved enough money to make it worth
his while....It was a very large stone, and was even larger when he began,
but it is something I would have never dreamed of happening...but it
obviously does.
Another point to ponder, however, is when someone dies and does not own a
cemetery lot. You don't think they pay for that (as well as the funeral) in
advance and while they are in their grieving process, do you? Nope....we
only have on average three days from the time of death to burial, so we bury
them and then issue the deed and get the money afterwards....but there are
times when we don't get our money right away. The only leverage we have is
to let the monument dealer know not to install the stone or the foundation
for the stone until we get our money first. Most of the time that works..
The only instance I can recall that it didn't, the deceased was exhumed and
transferred to a family cemetery somewhere else (no...not by us....by his
mother who didn't realize his wife also didn't buy a stone for him) It can
be a touchy situation...and one that would make us appear to be heartless as
well. But, we are in the business of selling burial plots, and the monument
dealer is in business as well.
I sell insurance....I don't give it away. The monument dealers have to do
what they have to do....
-Kyle