Thought you could buy most anything at Wal-Mart? Boy, are you right. Last week Wal-Mart quietly put up about 15 caskets and dozens of urns on its website.
Their prices undercut many funeral homes. Prices range from $999 for steel caskets to the mid-level $1,699 "Executive Privilege." All are less than $2,000, except for the Sienna Bronze Casket, which sells for $3,199. Caskets ship within 48 hours.
First-week sales are better than expected, but management has declined to release sales figures, reports the AP.
"Several online retailers offer this category on their sites," Wal-Mart spokesman Ravi Jariwala wrote in an e-mail. "We are simply conducting a limited beta test to understand customer response."
Wal-Mart hopes to get ahead in sales by offering interest-free financing for 12 months.
Pat Lynch, president-elect of the National Funeral Home Directors Association, states that the industry is not concerned with Wal-Mart's entry. He notes that Wal-Mart cannot offer the one thing that funeral directors specialize in: comfort during a difficult time. "There's no question in my mind as a funeral director for nearly 40 years that the most critical element is the human contact," he said.
Comments
Human contact is fine and necessary. But. the savings of a few thousand is also fine. Those caskets from the funeral home are outrageously expensive. Way to go WalMart
The mark-ups on services & items offered by funeral homes are incredible. Chalk another one for WalMart as it continues its one-stop-shop tradition.
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