Walmart Sells Caskets Online. How Will Funeral Homes React?

by Yuliya Talmazan | October 28, 2009 at 04:25 pm
545 views | 10 Recommendations | 5 comments

It was revealed today that retail giant Walmart is selling caskets and urns on their website. So, if you go to www.walmart.com, and type in "caskets," you will be surprised by the selection of caskets available to you. The cheapest one retails for just under a thousand dollars. The most expensive one goes for as much as $3,199.00. Interestingly, Walmart's competitor Costco caters caskets as well. The brands that Costco carries are pretty much the same as those available at Walmart. For example, the Lady of Guadalupe casket would go for $999 at Walmart, but the same brand sells for $924.99 at Costco. Urns go for as much as $100 on both Walmart's and Costco's websites.

So, while it may feel strange to be able to buy a casket at the same store that sells cheese and toothbrushes, the availability of caskets and urns at general retailers like Walmart might actually be alleviating the financial burden of funerals on average consumers. Funerals remain a very expensive service in North America, so surpassing the monopoly of funeral homes that sometimes charge unreasonably high prices for funeral services might actually benefit the consumer in today's tough economy.

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1
smkovalinsky

Good lord...:(

0
jefhow22

it's almost like selling cigarettes in the hospital gift shop...

0
Standtall

Free market economy at its finest.:)

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jazzyzazzy

When a go to heaven;;I booked a place already. a just want burned in a cardboard box.

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Sherry Fuselier

I think it's just fine..............why not ?    Don't know how it works, but assume each state would have fast delivery.............................would the funeral home object?   Funeral homes have been ripping people off for ages, not everyone can afford the always overpriced funeral, and the casket is the big ticket............................who cares where the casket comes from................funeral homes rip us off when we are at our lowest moral, and they don't mind doing it...........................

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smkovalinsky
First Flagged at 5:10 PM, Oct 28, 2009 by smkovalinsky

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