Laws & Casket buying Tips

National Casket Retailers Assoc.

Search this site for any information It is illegal for funeral homes to tie fees for their services to your purchasing a casket from them, or to charge a 'handling fee' for a casket bought elsewhere.

.. You might hear some techno-babble when it comes time to select a casket. There may be talk of non-corrosive liners, sealers, gauges or weights, and so forth. When it comes down to it, NO SEALERS are significantly more protective!!
In fact, in the FTC Funeral Rule, it's illegal to even make such claims
(however, a lack of many of their inspectors is also a problem).

Most decisions about purchasing funerals are Made by people when they are grieving. With tight time constraints and lack of experience. Most people only arrange one or two in their lifetime, and are unusually susceptible to outside influence.

Don't be intimidated by the Funeral Director. Read up on your options and take a trusted friend along too, just in case you're feeling pressured on overspending.

There are concerned and professional funeral industry personnel, You will, however, meet resistance with some of those who are not.

Death services have not always been expensive. They became so over time because some service providers, playing on emotions and shock, turned grief into excessive profit. A page of information on CRIME PREVENTION TIP - REDUCING the ODDS FRAUDS, CONS & SWINDLES "Tombstone Frauds and Swindles" Ron Corbin, PhD

Common Questions and answers
Question: Why buy a casket from a casket store, and how does this work?
Answer: To save money - a lot of it. And the merchandise is delivered to a funeral home or the address of your choice. The casket is often the single most expensive part of a traditional funeral. Why pay a big price tag, when you can get a casket identical to those offered at a funeral home for far less??

Questions Why are there such huge amounts that vary in the cost of the funeral service and supplies? Answer: There are three large conglomerates that have purchased a lot of independently owned funeral homes. (Possibly four - Service Corporation, Stewart Enterprises, Loewen and Carriage Services.) Yet they have not changed the name of the firm, nor passed on the savings of large group buying poweronto their customers. In fact, they have instead, raised the costs of all of the burials in all of their holdings. Ask if the funeral home you are thinking of doing business with is family owned or not. It really makes a difference in knowing, so when you shop, you can avoid those firms and save, by not shopping at the higher priced firms.

See our Alerts page (hot link below) for an example PAGE of TEXAS funeral homes, and the large difference in costs, in EVEN the BASIC service!! But also, be sure that you purchase the casket and/or all other "goods" from any of our NCRA MEMBER CASKET STORES (listed in red in store directory) and not the funeral home, to save a considerable amount of money! They are knowledgeable in how to save you money and will help you through this. Making the memories of the event less strained and costly and more consistent with what you wanted.

Here is a link to the FTC's Illegal Business Practices that one should also look into
And for all retail and public to be in the know More FTC Links

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