Cremation costs can vary by thousands of dollars. This is is an important factor when considering funeral costs and cremations costs. We have addressed this subject in several places before,-it is important to address this subject again.
You can view a video on this with more info here.
As with funeral cost, and cremation cost- it is very important to shop around.
The remains were brought to the cremation center at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City. Dickson was quoted a price of $2,425 for what is called a “direct cremation.”
“I just told ’em I wanted the bare basic just the ashes in a box no services no nothing,” he says.
At the time he thought it seemed like a lot of money for what he was getting. “I thought of it, but I thought what am I going to do, they’ve got the body here.”
Dickson paid the bill. But a few weeks later, an acquaintance of his wife said he had paid for a cremation around the same time and it only cost $600.
Dickson hit the phone and called about five different crematories in the valley — he received quotes of $400 to $2,400 for the same service.
But according to Arizona law, the Sunland Memorial Park did nothing wrong.
“We cannot control the prices. In other words this is free enterprise. A business is able to charge whatever they may want,” says Rudy Thomas, executive director of the Arizona Board of Funeral Directors and Embalmers.
Thomas has heard the complaints before, but the FTC dictates that funeral homes nationwide don’t limit pricing. A consumer must physically be given a guide to funeral information if they are inquiring about services.
It is important to note that Sunland Memorial Park is a corporate facility specifically a Service Corporation International facility( NYSE: SCI)
Although this event is not a Service Corporation International Scandal, it does show the high pricing that can occur at an SCI Facility. This is something that the Funeral Consumer must be continually be made aware of.
Many times it is best inorder to save on Funeral Cost To Avoid a Corporate Funeral Home.
Funeral Industry| Funeral News| Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy
It is important to remember that the FTC does not regulate Funeral or Cremation Cost.
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- Many ways to save on Funeral with cremation-YourFuneralGuy (yourfuneralguy.wordpress.com)
Your Funeral Guy 
Thanks for the information. I am a volunteers coordinator for Patriot Guard Rider/Veteran Recovery Program. Our role is to locate, identify and inter those cremains which are abandoned and are known to be of Veterans. we have teams in the 5 boros and in Nassau talking to Funeral Directors to let them know we are a recognized organization that supports our veterans. If you know or hear of such abandoned cremains, please let me/us know. We cannot leave anyone behind. Thank-You for your article which I have shared with others.
Yes, it can be very difficult while arranging for a funeral for a loved one, and be in grieving. Get the estimated cost on your mobile phone for a funeral arrangement
Completely agreed, it is always best to shop around. A few phone call could save a thousand dollars or more. People feel pressured especially by time and grief. They may not be thinking clearly and accept what presented in front of them.
I also agree that it is best to shop around, the problem is that if it is urgent, then you might go with the first service you find. Maybe its a good idea to figure this out for your family early on, keep the phone number of the service of choice where everyone in the family can find it.
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Thank you for the information. I learn a lot here in a way I can now decide whether to have a cremation or not or to have a pre paid plan or not. Wonderful site.
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Thank you for this article, as a life insurance professional, I have clients calling me all the time asking to get a policy that would cover their burial and for the life of me I’ve never really known how much coverage to recommend. It seems like the pricing is all over the place and when I suggest 3-5 thousand for creation and 10-15 thousand for burial some clients will tell me that way too much while others will say its way too low… I guess it this just reflects the wide spread pricing that exists in the market place.
What numbers would you suggest that I use a general ballpark figure for these clients who just want to cover the cost of their burial.
Thanks,
Thank yo to the author for an interesting read.
I agree, it’s really unfortunate that being over-charged is pretty common. From what I’ve seen here in AZ, prices do vary quite a bit, so it’s worth it to shop around. Even it is an awful feeling to be over-charged, particularly for something like a cremation, it is one of thousands of services we use, and therefore the same basic principles apply.
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Direct creamations just from £1,695 at Safehands Funeral Plans.
Cheapest direct cremations in the UK
I bet the low numbers are someone shooting a low ball number to get the family to the funeral home and then hit them with other expenses. $400 is a very low number