Bring out yer dead...to Costco

In August of this year Costco started offering caskets in two test markets in Chicago. At the time people made a lot of jokes and the spokesman for the National Funeral Directors Association, said he didn't think Costco's entry into the casket market will significantly impact the funeral home business.

Well, couple of months later and Costco is still selling a lot of "people planters"!! I was in Chicago last week, and a gent with me (thanks David) walked up to a cashier working at Costco and asked them how many coffins they sell and she said, "HONEY, you would not believe!!"

Granted, it's a little odd to walk through the check-out line in Costco and there is your choice of coffins right next to the aluminum siding options...but it makes sense. Cosco casket FAQ's

I mean, I know you're grieving when someone close to you dies...but it doesn't mean you have to throw your brain away when it comes to burying them properly. Obviously, the Costco folks are ahead of the curve on this business opportunity...I think convenience and having options for your burial needs in other places could be a model for success...somebody get me the number for 7-11.

Comments

[gigi]

Well dog, I once had a mother who bought "stuff" on QVC and Surplus City, and stock piled it in the garage--never used most of it but couldn't pass up the opportunity for a bargain. What do we do with this big thing once we own it? Store it in the basement and WAIT? Usually this is an "as you need it" purchase. Some things lend themselves to impulse buying or squirreling away for the future, but a casket? Costco won't "hold" it until that time, so I guess this would be where the public storage spaces come into the picture--$$$.

Cradle to grave mentality--I guess it was bound to evolve--Costco has it all, well almost--they don't offer the stork's services, yet.

[david dog]

Oh, you mean there's a chance the funeral directors of the world will have a little competition for the first time in history when it comes to raping your loved ones when they're at their most vulnerable?

The scenario I hear is that, here you are, grieving over the loss (hopefully) of your spouse, and a gentle, understanding man in a dark suit shows you the options you have for burying that precious body. Option 1 is a pine box for $50, and Option 2 is a deluxe casket for $5000. The lack of choices forces you to spend a ridiculous amount (don't worry mom, we won't go cheap on you, even if it would be better to spend the money on food for the funeral attendees or donate it to charity rather than bury it in the ground for only the worms to see) to avoid feeling guilt for going to the other extreme.

Where is the middle ground? Since when does America have to be satisfied with only 2 choices? And why should funeral homes reap unknowable profits because we perceive there are no other options.

We buy our cars online, shoes online, food online, flowers online, future wives online. Nothing is sacred.

And Costco is making it better for those of us who still plan to behave tastefully at funeral time. Look at the airline industry. Even if you never want to fly Southwest airlines (no reserved seats, humans treated like cattle, anal retentive people rewarded for arriving 2 hours before the flight with a low seating number), their presence makes your American Airlines ticket more affordable so you can still travel in style.

Are you following me? Costco keeps the Funeral Home honest, because now Costco has set the bar for casket prices that reap a reasonable profit margin for the retailer instead of a ridiculous one. Funeral homes had better clean up their act.

I think the other reaction is to the fact that we have sanitized death in America and we're loathe to be reminded of it. Hardly anyone dies in their homes anymore. How many of us have actually watched someone die? Not me. Have no idea. I've never even seen a pet die.

So caskets for sale on the street corner (which is so much more offensive to us than prostitution, which is also probably happening in the Costco aisles and bathrooms by the way) because it's not a reality for us in America. As someone recently said "America is the only place on earth where dying is optional." Think about it.

Smell ya.

[a.brain]

I think 6 pack of coffins could encourage manslaughter - or at least reckless behaviour...but the worst part of the deal is that they say COSTCO right across the top, just like a Nascar vehicle. (kidding - but that's a good idea?!)

[gigi]

Do they offer a plot out back? OR does your name and address go immediately to the neighborhood undertaker for a housecall? This is the ultimate in weird, sick, and bad taste. Yet I can't be surprised considering how everything else once sacred is being commercialized and ratcheted down to the lowest common denominator--why not dying at bulk rates and cheaper prices--I'm just thankful you don't have to buy three to a pack!! That really gets the mind to wandering............