Buyers Guide

Thank you for taking the time to read this Buyer's Guide. We work very hard to make this process as smooth and as pain-free as possible. We want to make sure you are comfortable making this type of purchase. Our experience has shown us that those individuals who read this Buyer's Guide have a high satisfaction level in their overall experience. Believe it or not, we actually have customers, while rare, that will buy a stone without ever reading any corresponding material. This can lead to frustration on the part of one or both parties so again let us thank you for your thoroughness and attention to details.

Purchasing a stone through the internet can have both an economic savings and be personally fulfilling, with your involvement. We are here to try to assist and answer any questions that you have for us. We see the creation of every monument we produce as an honor extended to us to commemorate a life and we appreciate your consideration of trusting us with that honor.

Cemetery Requirements

The first and foremost important item is to please check with your cemetery prior to purchase for any restrictions regarding monuments for your particular plot. Do not purchase a stone prior to this step! Most cemeteries will have restrictions on markers and monuments that range from type and size, but can often include color, designs, finishes and more. You will be functioning as the contact person with the cemetery and must understand the type of stone that at will meet their requirements. Please contact them for this guidance prior to purchasing your desired stone.

Engraving Options:

Pricing for each stone includes front face engraving with a design and your text. Custom orders can be done with text over and above the listed character count, for a fee. If you would like to have your Surname (Last Name) on the BACK of the stone, please add $150.00 to your order. If you would like to add any additional text up to 75 characters, please add an additional $200.00.

Shipping Information

We provide FREE SHIPPING to any BUSINESS address which can unload the stone in the lower 48 states only (Not valid in Alaska or Hawaii). Shipping, as priced in our listing, covers delivery by Common Carrier LTL service to a Business with business hours and full-time employees who are capable off receiving shipments and safetly unloading the stone. This allows us to contract the best pricing terms for your shipments. If you need to change this service there will be additional shipping fees; please review expanded shipping options below. Carriers can be set to call prior to delivery or will call to set appointment. Any missed deliveries will incur a redelivery fee. A shipping notice will be generated when the stone ships along with a tracking number that will be emailed to you the same or next day. We will need the name and best phone number of the person at the ship-to location who will be responsible for unloading and signing for the stone. This information will be supplied should the carrier need it, to ensure as smooth as a delivery as possible. Understand, and please note, when we see issues with any stone purchase, the vast majority are with delivery and locations not covered. If you have to change to a non-covered, ship-to location, please understand there is a great risk the delivery will not be as you had planned.

DELIVERY LOCATION OPTIONS:

Carved Impressions has negotiated contracts with multiple common LTL carriers across the country in an effort to offer the best pricing for stones. We ship free to business locations which meet the qualifications detailed below. In all cases, each order must provide the NAME and CONTACT NUMBER of the person responsible for receiving the stone, as well as the business delivery location address. If you are shipping to a location not covered by our business description, you must purchase additional delivery services. In all cases, other than a church or residential delivery, you are responsible for the unloading of the skid. If your location cannot unload the skid, you must purchase lift gate service. If a carrier arrives at a location, and the skid cannot be removed by the business, the stone will be sent back to the terminal, and you will be contacted for the next delivery attempt (all locations other than church & residence) with the added service of a lift gate. Again, we work to offer free shipping options to the qualified locations, but if changes are needed, there will be additional costs.

BUSINESS LOCATION: FREE

To qualify for FREE DELIVERY; your BUSINESS Location MUST:

Be capable of unloading a skid from a 53' trailer.
Have unrestricted access for the 53' trailer into the facility
Have full-time employees on site

If a location regularly services trailers and has equipment to unload heavy skids, they should qualify; if there is any question, please contact us prior to purchase to avoid any issues. Home based businesses DO NOT QUALIFY. Church, Cemeteries and Residences all have restricted entrance locations for 53' trailers and do not qualify for FREE shipping. You are able to add that option below. In Addition, the stone can be delivered to a freight companies' terminal for them to hold until you are able to pick it up. Ther perminal will set the skid on your truck or any trailer without a gate. The terminal usually is within 100 miles of a destination address. Please contact us prior to purchase to determine which terminal we will be shipping to. Please note you will be contacted by the terminal when it is ready for pick up and you will need to be prepared to do so. You will have a shipping notice on any delivery location and a tracking number that will have an Estimated Date and Time of Arrival.

CEMETERY: + $200.00
To qualify for Cemetery Delivery, The location MUST:

Be accessible for a 53' trailer. Please check with your cemetery for confirmation and gate entrance directions.
Have equipment to unload the stone but please confirm prior to purchase. If they are not able to unload the stone, you will need to add lift gate service to the delivery (+ $90.00)
Have a physical street address. Without an address, the carrier will not attempt to deliver.

Attempting to meet a carrier at a location for delivery is not advised. Due to the nature of their business, common carriers can have unreliable delivery times. The carrier can be set to call prior to delivery to attempt to give a better window but that isn’t always reliable. If you miss the carrier you will be responsible for a charge for the next delivery attempt which will be $100.00 or more and up depending on the carrier and the delivery location. So again, we do not advise attempting to meet a carrier at any location.

CHURCH AND RESIDENTIAL: + $250.00
This covers your stones delivery, along with a lift gate service to church and residential addresses. This will accommodate monuments to set the skid on the end of the drive way or to a graveyard. The carrier will not be responsible for anything more. You will need to have someone there to inspect the stone BEFORE signing for the delivery. Carriers will call to set an appointment for delivery and in most cases call prior to arrival. It is VERY important that you have someone at the location. If the carrier is missed there will be a charge for the next delivery that usually exceeds $100.00, based on carrier and delivery location.

Ordering and Design
When purchasing you can enter all the information for the stone right on the order. The “personalize” option on the order page will direct you how to submit your information for engraving. We do not take information over the phone or prior to purchase. Simple design changes to those shown in the additional pictures may be possible at no additional charge, but significant changes along with custom designs will have costs reflective of the time spent to create. Contact us prior to purchase if you have a personalized design idea and want a quote.

Ceramic Portraits
Ceramic Portraits are available for most stones. Please check either our Ceramic Portraits page for more information on the 3" x 4" ($159) or 5" x 7" ($285) designs or contact us at time of purchase for more information about adding that to your stone.

Proof Approval
Graphics are produced after purchase of the stone and MUST be approved by you before we start the engraving process. A graphic of your stone will be created by our designer(s) and sent to you through the personal email you have entered that correspondes to your account. We do not create graphics prior to purchase but will offer 100% refund of purchase cost if we are unable to get a graphic design to meet your needs. In addition, many Cemeteries will require design approval as standard procedure. The graphic we provide will meet their needs for approval and we will not engrave any stone prior to your approval. Again, in any instance, if the design does not meet the cemetery approval and we are unable to make changes that will allow the stone to be placed we are happy to refund 100%. Custom designs (outside of simple changes to designs already shown) will add design costs to the stone. If you have ideas as to what you want for a design, or have questions, please contact us prior to purchase for pricing.

We will deliver a stone with the exact engraving you have approved. Please note it is your responsibility to carefully inspect every character in the graphic proof we send you for accuracy. We highly suggest having more than one individual involved in this process to eliminate errors. When you approve the graphic that is what we will engrave—there is no opportunity after that initial engraving to change a mistake and in most cases a new stone is less expensive than attempting to correct an error. Understand that any error in engraving that you have approved will not be corrected and the engraving will stand as completed. We cannot stress enough that examining the graphic for errors, should be carefully and thoroughly done by more than one person, if possible.

Double Process
In the engraving of monuments the depth of cutting is very important to an enduring presentation of the stone. We strive to engrave each stone to a depth that ensures the natural shadowing effect of the well carved inscriptions that will be readable for eternity. In order to ensure a high standard of quality, we always use a 'double process' on each stone with designs that call for “Flashed Panels”. These are the areas of a design where the polish is removed to create a contrast to make any inscription stand out. The reason we double process is that this protects the carving with the cleanest lines creating the sharpest, cleanest engraving. There is a significant difference in doing this and we commit the time to do so over a single process.

At Time of Delivery & Placement
Carved Impressions ships thousands of stones per year with a less than 1% damage occurrence! Please make sure to inspect or have your delivery location inspect the stone for damage prior to signing for the delivery and refuse the stone if there is damage. If possible, take a picture of the damage for us and contact us ASAP. Carved Impressions will remedy the issue with repair or replacement as quickly as possible. We will file any appropriate claim actions on the stone with the shipping company. Understand that when you accept and sign for the stone you are acknowledging that the stone has arrived without defect or damage from the shipping. Damage reported to the carrier after the stone is signed for will most likely not be covered with any recourse.

The setting or placement of the stone will be your responsibility. Many cemeteries will offer stone setting for a fee, some retail dealers will set stones shipped in but not all. In some cases, our customers set the stone. We do not provide specific instructions on this but would refer you to many sources of 'Setting A Headstone' on YouTube. Most stones will require a foundation and that is also your responsibility to contract. Please check with your cemetery as they often have certain requirements and possibly offers this service. Options for setting a stone can be a Funeral Home that sells headstones- They can set or are contracting with someone that sets stones. Vault Companies- They have equipment to set stones and many will provide this service.

Thank You!

Again, THANK YOU for considering us to create a lasting memorial for you or a loved one. We know this is quite a bit of information to get through, but in the end, it will be worth getting a quality memorial for your loved ones at a fraction on the normal cost!