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You can buy almost anything at Costco Wholesale, right? Even a casket!
In this article, we’ll take a look at how much a Costco casket costs, how long it takes to get one delivered, the store’s return policy on caskets and more.
As you probably know, Costco offers its members the benefits of lower prices through group buying power. The warehouse club chain never marks anything up to more than 15%, and the same holds true for caskets.
The Federal Trade Commission estimates the average cost of a casket to be just over $2,000, but prices can skyrocket to $10,000 or more.
Costco offers a selection of caskets that range in price from $899.99 to $1,499.99 — below the $2,000 average. And that price includes shipping charges.
“It lets you know how unbelievably the funeral industry marks up caskets,” money expert Clark Howard says. “Costco has been a big seller of caskets for a long time. A lot of Costco members know that’s the go-to for a casket.”
Here’s a quick look at a few of the caskets and price points as of December 2021:
Casket Name | Price |
Casket Emporium Inc Casket | $899.99 |
The President Casket by Prime | $1,149.99 |
The Hampton Casket by Prime | $1,399.99 |
Titan Casket Military Select Steel Funeral Casket, Army | $1,499.99 |
Costco says it can deliver a casket in three business days provided you place your order by 10 a.m. PST.
Let’s say you order on Tuesday before 10 a.m. PST. You can expect the casket to be delivered by Friday at 5 p.m. local time. But if you miss that 10 a.m. PST deadline by even a minute, Costco’s website says the delivery would be bumped to the following weekday, so you wouldn’t receive it until the following Monday.
If you’re interested in ordering, customers are urged to call before ordering to “verify availability and to confirm Shipping Delivery time and date.”
If you’re paying by credit card and there’s some kind of hold or decline, that will delay your order. Other possible unforeseen delays that can complicate delivery timelines include:
In the interest of making the delivery process as smooth as possible, Costco recommends that customers call the funeral home to inform them of their casket order at least one business day before it is delivered.
The Federal Trade Commission has rules stating that funeral homes must accept any casket purchased from a third-party source. Costco can deliver to the majority of states in the U.S.
To expedite the ordering process, Costco says you should have the following information on hand for the “Shipping Address” at checkout:
Additionally, you’ll need the following information for the “Billing Address” at checkout:
As stated earlier, a funeral home must accept a casket that you purchase from Costco per FTC rules.
The “What Consumers Cannot Be Required To Purchase” section of the FTC Funeral Rule expressly states that a funeral home:
“… Cannot refuse to serve a family because they do not purchase one particular item (e.g., a casket or embalming) or a combination of items or services.”
In addition, both state and federal laws bar a funeral home from charging any additional fees for your Costco casket purchase.
Fortunately, you do not have to be at the funeral home when the casket is delivered. If you’re told by the funeral home that you do, push back. Costco’s website recommends you tell them any requirement for you to be there for delivery is a violation of Section 453.4(b)(1) of the FTC Funeral Rule.
However, we should note that if the casket is being delivered to somewhere other than a funeral home, you or someone else will need to be there to receive it. You can coordinate this delivery with the carrier.
Costco is known for its generous return policy. But that policy extends to caskets in only limited circumstances. According to the website, “Costco.com will only accept a return of a casket due to freight or cosmetic damage from shipping.”
If you believe you have grounds to return a casket, don’t try to do it at your local warehouse club. Instead, call 1-800-955-2292 or email customerservice@costco.com for further instructions on the returns process for caskets.
You can use the contact information reference above to get additional information before making your mind up about this important and sensitive end-of-life issue: 1-800-955-2292 or email customerservice@costco.com.
Costco offers very affordable prices on caskets. But they’re not the only ones who give consumers a solid option for shopping away from the funeral home.
Both Walmart and Amazon have even more casket options available online than Costco does. We’ve got a look at what they offer in our article titled: You can save big money on caskets at Costco, Walmart and Amazon.
This post was last modified on September 29, 2022 11:59 am
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