gauss
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2011
- Messages
- 3,615
Gauss' dear 83yo father passed away suddenly on Monday.
Being an only child, I am currently planning a funeral for the first time with DW. So far I am pleased with my funeral director, however I was a bit taken aback today when actual caskets with prices were shown.
Yesterday I was told that caskets would start at $695 and they do not carry anything but quality caskets. I thought I would be happy with the $695 one until I saw it. It looked to me like a rectangular pine box.
Anything that I recognized as a traditional casket was priced in the $2,000 - $4,000 range with others going up to $10,000. I have read on the Internet that in the past there have been large markups on caskets by funeral directors, so much that Federal law requires you to be given the option to purchase your own.
I don't have much time to shop for a casket, but I would be curious if others here who have been through this recently typically pay $2,000 - $4,000 for something that looks like a casket. If I can save 50% by shopping around it might be worth it (given my time constraints), but if not, I will just go with one in this range. Money is not a huge factor, I just want to make sure that I am getting a competitive price (ie I am both FIRE and Frugal at the same time!)
Thanks for sharing in advance
-gauss
Being an only child, I am currently planning a funeral for the first time with DW. So far I am pleased with my funeral director, however I was a bit taken aback today when actual caskets with prices were shown.
Yesterday I was told that caskets would start at $695 and they do not carry anything but quality caskets. I thought I would be happy with the $695 one until I saw it. It looked to me like a rectangular pine box.
Anything that I recognized as a traditional casket was priced in the $2,000 - $4,000 range with others going up to $10,000. I have read on the Internet that in the past there have been large markups on caskets by funeral directors, so much that Federal law requires you to be given the option to purchase your own.
I don't have much time to shop for a casket, but I would be curious if others here who have been through this recently typically pay $2,000 - $4,000 for something that looks like a casket. If I can save 50% by shopping around it might be worth it (given my time constraints), but if not, I will just go with one in this range. Money is not a huge factor, I just want to make sure that I am getting a competitive price (ie I am both FIRE and Frugal at the same time!)
Thanks for sharing in advance
-gauss