A favorite analogy used by funeral directors is that people often choose a casket for death based on the kind of car they drove in life.
“A person who drove a Taurus all his life wouldn’t want the Mercedes-Benz equivalent of a casket,” one funeral director explained good-naturedly.
It’s a fitting analogy considering some caskets cost as much as a luxury automobile–solid copper, spring-bed mattress, velvet lining, all the extras, retail price tag $42,000.
Most of the Taurus-driving population will spend considerably less on a casket. The industry quotes an average of $2,200 (18-gauge metal). There is, however, a simple way consumers can cut that average price by 50 percent or more: shop around.
Before 1984, consumers could only purchase a casket from a funeral home. When the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) amended its “Funeral Rule,” it allowed third-party casket dealers to sell directly to the public. Casket retail stores emerged offering the same or similar caskets sold by funeral homes at far lower prices.
The high overhead of a funeral home with its parlors, coffee room and parking lot necessitates marking up casket prices. While a markup of 50 to 100 percent is commonly acceptable, anything beyond that is considered gouging by the Rev. Henry Wasielewski, a Catholic priest and consumer advocate in Arizona.
As founder of the Interfaith Funeral Information Committee, Wasielewski’s Web site (www.xroads.com/(tilde)funerals) lists the wholesale prices and profit margins on some of the most commonly sold caskets.
By law, a funeral home cannot refuse to handle a casket purchased from an outside source or charge for doing so. When casket retailers opened shop, it was an uphill battle to overcome propaganda about poor casket quality.
“If we furnished shabby quality, it would embarrass the funeral home; if we were not on time, it would play havoc with scheduling,” says Maynard Cheris, owner of Impressive Caskets and founder of the National Casket Retailers Association. “As funeral homes learned we did furnish good quality and were there on time, they relaxed. Today, it’s routine.”
Caskets can also be viewed or purchased over the Internet. National companies ship anywhere in the U.S. with next-day service. Direct Casket charges $150 to $400 to ship directly to your funeral home’s door according to CEO Kevin Gray. His company and Consumer Casket USA have developed custom-made shipping crates to avoid in-route damage.
Since timely casket deliveries are a concern for both funeral homes and at-need consumers, complex delivery systems have blossomed to handle demand.
Batesville Casket Co. in Indiana, the largest casket manufacturer in the world, has a “hub and spoke system” modeled after Federal Express, according to company spokesman Joe Weigel. Four manufacturing plants supply seven regional distribution centers that deliver caskets to 80 local warehouses across North America on a daily basis.
Their Tinley Park distribution center keeps 4,000 caskets on hand and ships out 1,000 caskets a day. Consumers who don’t find the casket type or color they want at a Batesville-served funeral home can have it delivered from Tinley Park the next day.
Caskets are made of wood, metal, fiberglass or plastic.
Metal caskets are the most commonly sold, ranging from $450 to $42,000 and up depending on metal type. From least expensive to most costly are: steel, stainless steel, solid bronze and copper. Most consumers choose steel, which comes in gauges (20, 19, 18, and 16) that represent the steel’s thickness and weight. The lower the number, the stronger and more expensive the steel.
Wood caskets come in solid hardwoods (oak, cherry, etc.), softwood (pine) and wood compositions (fiberwood, cardboard, or particleboard covered with cloth or veneers). Prices for hardwoods usually begin at $1,200. Composition caskets range from $100 to $1,000.
Alternative containers are also available for $20 to $100. Basically a reinforced cardboard box with handles, it is a biodegradeable option that can be used for both burials and cremations.
Caskets are not required for cremations or direct burials, but an alternative container is necessary.
For consumers who want a viewing before cremation, rental caskets are available from most funeral providers. The deceased is placed in a more elaborate casket, with a disposable lining, for viewing and then transferred to the alternative container before cremation. Casket rentals average $650, plus the cost of the alternative container according to an AARP product report.
Metal caskets can be bought with or without sealing features. Wood caskets, due to their porous nature, are seldom gasketed. Sealing features include neoprene gaskets and moisture-retardant coatings. They are often called “protective” and these extras add to the casket’s price.
An AARP product report calls sealing features “questionable.” The FTC’s funeral rule prohibits funeral providers from claiming sealing features will keep out grave substances when it isn’t true or saying sealing features will preserve the body indefinitely.
Wasielewski takes it further, claiming industry insiders have verified sealer caskets can be harmful. He claims sealing features keep out the air needed to dehydrate the body, which results in a build-up of anaerobic bacteria and gas.
“It’s just kind of normal that caskets explode (in mausoleums) and they bring in the mortician in the middle of the night to clean it up. They think they’re doing a favor to the families by not telling them,” Wasielewski says. He claims some mausoleums break the gasket to avoid the problem, but then consumers wind up paying extra for what becomes a worthless feature.
Whichever casket type consumers buy, what’s important to remember is you now have options, but it means a trip to the casket store, or price comparisons by telephone or Internet. For some, the extra time may be too inconvenient given their grief. For others, saving a couple of thousand dollars is worth the effort.
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RETAIL CASKET DEALERS
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Retail casket dealers sell direct to consumers at discount and deliver to your funeral home (or other location) with same-day or next-day service. By law, a funeral home cannot refuse to handle a casket purchased from a retail casket dealer or charge to do so.
– A’Lace Casket Co., 4844 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago; 773-379-8814. Metals start at $450, free local delivery.
– Illinois Casket Co., 6747 S. Halsted St., Chicago; 773-483-4500. Metals start at $450, hardwoods at $950, free local delivery.
– Impressive Casket Co., 4200 Grove Ave. (factory showroom), Gurnee, Ill.; by-appointment-only locations at 6310 N. Milwaukee in Chicago and 15157 S. Cicero in Oak Forest; 800-291-0772 or 847-662-4664; www.casketco.com. Metals start at $587, hardwoods at $987, $50 delivery.
– Majestix Caskets, 822 W. Northwest Highway (by appointment only), Arlington Heights, Ill.; 847-255-0446; www.majestixcaskets.com. Metals start at $475, hardwoods at $1,295, free local delivery.
– Richard Lamb Funeral Service & Resource Center, 15 E. Ogden Ave., Westmont, Ill.; 888-511-5262; www.richardlamb.com. Metals start at $508, hardwoods at $1,024, free local delivery.
– Consumer Casket USA, 800-611-8778, www.ccusa.com. Metals start at $525, hardwoods at $940, door-to-door air delivery for $200-$300.
– Direct Casket, Inc., New York and California, 800-732-2753, www.directcasket.com. Metals start at $645, hardwoods at $995, door-to-door air delivery for $150-$400.
– The National Casket Retailers Association Web site is www.casketstores.com and the Funeral and Memorial Societies of America Web site is www.funerals.org.
