Star-Legacy Reaches Agreement to Add Cremation Urns on Amazon.com, Caskets To Follow

Trenton, N.J. ? Star Legacy Funeral Network, the casket supplier to Wal-Mart, has reached an agreement with Internet giant Amazon.com to add an extensive line of cremation products to the site. The first wave of the rollout, 117 SKUs of cremation urns, appeared on Amazon.com on Nov. 10. In about two weeks the rest of Star Legacy?s cremation offerings ? pet urns, jewelry and flowers ? will be added.

Caskets distributed by Star Legacy are expected to appear on Amazon.com in the first quarter of 2010.

It was just two weeks ago when caskets debuted on the Wal-Mart web site. Since then, the retailer has added a selection of urns for both humans and pets to its online selection, and it has adjusted the prices of its caskets. The new prices most likely represent an adjustment to differentiate the actual retail price from the shipping costs. Prices for its lowest-priced 18-gauge steel model are marked at $895 ? nearly $100 less than originally posted. But shipping will be about $99.

Other 18-gauge models range from $1,099 to $1,599. Two stainless steel models were both priced at $1,799 and the price of the bronze model dropped by about $300 to $2,899. The urns are available for less than $215 (again, the prices do not include shipping).

Although Star Legacy Funeral Network is the supplier of the Wal-Mart caskets, independent confirmation by the Memorial Business Journal has identified St. Joseph Casket Company, St. Joseph, Tenn., as the manufacturer of the caskets.

Source: Memorial Business Journal