Wal-Mart Offering Caskets and Urns
Even in Death, Wal-Mart Wants Your Business
Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas started selling 15 different caskets and dozens of urns on its website last week. Prices start at $895 for the basic model caskets. Mid-level caskets go $1300-$1700 and a high end bronze casket sells for $2899. Walmart.com gives complete descriptions (including photos) and sizes of all caskets and offers to ship them to your home or the funeral parlor. There's even a Q&A section.
Wal-Mart guarantees to ship caskets within 48 hours and federal law requires that all funeral homes accept third party caskets. Wal-Mart's prices are sure to undercut most prices offered by funeral homes. In many cases grieving family members are talked into "upgrading" caskets by greedy funeral directors. Wal-Mart makes it easy to go on-line and find something within the price range a person can truly afford, with no pressure or hassles.
The caskets are being supplied to Wal-Mart by Star Legacy Funeral Network, Inc., based in McHenry, Illinois. Star Legacy sells the same caskets on its site for around the same price or less along with many others.
Wal-Mart and Star Legacy declined to release sales figures but said that the response in the first week has been better than expected. Eventually, Wal-Mart will be offering over 200 Star Legacy products including memorial jewelry, pet urns and over 2 dozen caskets.
For more information go to www.walmart.com.
Published by Pikie Melago
Retired from AT&T since December, 2000. I'm just a product of the 60's (can I say greaser/hippie????) with 12 years of Catholic school (talk about confused) and a zest for life. View profile
- Choosing eBay USA for Funeral and Cemetery Supplies
- Rose Family Funeral Home - Simi Valley
- Reviewing Vicki Lensing's Grief Support: The Role of Funeral Service
- New York City Says No to Wal-Mart Store
- Wal-Mart Has Everything Including Doctors?
- Wal-Mart Survival
11 Comments
Post a CommentWow- Walmart takes care of everything, don't they?
Can't do it in Oklahoma, we have to purchase from a licensed funeral director. So okies will always pay thousands for a casket.
great job! Hugz CJ
I guess it's called diversifying, Pikie! Have a great Christmas and 2010.
Wow! Nothing but NOTHING is sacred to them, eh? Speaking of coffins, I bet poor ol' Sam Walton is spinning in his as we speak!
Serious question - this is not a "pre-need" thing, right? I mean, no way a funeral home will store one's casket til they need it when that need is not imminent, right? And I sure as Hell want no part of storing my own casket for the next forty years - HOPEFULLY!
wow. I wrote a poem about wal mart; I will have to add the coffins ....right after the condoms and rifles. Great work! thanks.
Very interesting about the 3rd Party regulation. Good reporting.
Fascinating! I don't think I'd go through Wal-Mart for a casket, but if the added competition drives down funeral home prices, I'm all for it! Great article topic!
Good article. And yes, this leads me to wonder "what's next?"