From under $2K. I looked up the link for you...not shilling for them, but here's a place to start:

http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=20596&eCat=BC|20595|20596&lang=en-US&whse=BC

Thanks yeller. These prices are lower than the funeral home as well. I appreciate the link.

You are a good friend to help make these arrangements. Sorry for your loss. Good luck.

memorial service then private cremation. The funeral director will not advise this as they lose the money on what is usually an overpriced casket. I am clueless to caskets online. Hope this helps..

that had been in the locale --that my parents grew up and ultimately were buried in--for multiple generations. Being able to deal with them to help and not "burn" my sister and I as we planned two out-of-state funerals a mere three months apart was a "blessing", however.

So, if you believe you can trust the funeral home/director/laying it out what you have to spend should suffice, but I know there are bad actors out there. That said, I do know that Costco started selling caskets--though I've never seen them in the stores I've visited. I suppose their website would have them.


Good luck. It is kind of you to help your friend.

mother rule out cremation? that is probably the cheapest alternative. We all turn to dust anyway. Good luck and again so sorry for your friend and you are a good friend to help.

something to consider. I think a lot of people fear there will be no memorial to visit--you can certainly add a plaque/headstone to a family gravesite, if that is important or even inter the ashes-- or even sprinkle them over the grave of family members buried.

traditionally the area of the country I came from always buried and held funerals with open caskets. I have to say that caused me difficulty as a young child--but when my own parents passed, I felt obligated to honor the wishes of my father's living mother, my aging grandmother, so I did so.

Cremation, though has got to be increasing in popularity for obvious reasons.

what better, more magnificent memorial can there be?


The sea refuses no river
And this river is homeward flowing. . .

The sea refuses no river
And the river is where I am. . .

The river is where I am.

Ordering online is a legitimate option. They offer the same product without the huge markup. Most states require the funeral home to accept it, check your state laws. Also if they have a visitation, they could have it just prior to the funeral to save money or to save even more they could have a graveside service, which more and more are doing. Ensure they know that the funeral home is required to give them an itemized list of expenses, most will bundle the cost so you dont know what youre paying for.
You can also check to see if the funeral home might have a casket that may have a scratch or dent that you normally couldnt see. They might discount it. When my mother died, we got a casket that had a small scratch on the top, but that you couldnt see when the lid was open or the flowers were on it. They gave us a big discount on it. You could also check other funeral homes in the area for caskets that could be discounted and they would transfer it to your funeral home.

We see that even Costco sells them online. Her mom hasn't passed yet, but it will be any day now, so we've got a little bit of time to shop around.

We'll see about what you did and ask if there is something with slight damage.

I appreciate your help.

worrying about the bucks but having been through it i will opt for cremation as a lesser expense and tell them not to use a casket for viewing because the person paying for it would have to buy the casket. just (not trying to be crass sorry) lay the person on the table for viewing if there is one and then cremate them.

even for those that will be cremated. Sad that during a difficult time like that, the family members have tor research all that.

dependent on state laws

Its the cement vault.

No matter what coffin you buy, it will be CRUSHED if its not in a cement vault. Even the metal coffins.

At a minimum, you need a cement vault, with a basic seal (usually a form of putty), into which they place the coffin. If you don't have that cement vault, the coffin will CRUSH under the weight of the dirt that fills the grave.

Some Cemeteries require the vault and some don't ... I think the specifics vary by state ... but regardless, you need a good cement vault. The coffin is more or less irrelevant, except for the brief period of the viewing and funeral ... after that, its buried in the ground and no one remembers it.

The weight of the dirt that fills a grave will flatten a coffin, and the body within.

And so, the family should know this and decide if they are ok with that. Most families have no idea about this ... the might spend a few thousand on a nice wooden coffin, which looks nice at the wake, but then that coffin, and its contents get crushed when the grave is filled in.

I worked in a Cemetery to help pay for college. If a coffin goes into that hole with no cement vault, you can hear it crush as the dirt is poured in. And I also participated in a number of exhumations where the coffin was not in a cement vault. Its not pretty.

Either get the cement vault, or go the cremation route.

Some places do offer wooden vaults very cheaply. You just have to ask. Also check the cemetery requirements. My sisters mother in law had a wooden vault.

Most of the wooden "vaults" are made of either particle board, or a soft pine. They are usually no thicker than 3/4 of an inch, if that, and they crush just as easily ... they also degrade over time.

Again, I hate to say this ... but those are usually a waste of money. The wood box crushes, and so does the casket.

almost $10500 and that was with an inexpensive casket and vault. She didn't believe in cremation but myself I am going for direct creation, it costs $2400 to be burnt up in a $100 cardboard box or $2900 if you want burnt up in a $600 wooden box. I don't care if the box is cardboard, wooden or they use a garbage bag (it's being burnt up anyway)! The funeral industry is about as big a rip-off as our health care system.

my dad had good insurance and a bronze casket and was 20000 but i know it was expensive but i honored their wishes i think if you can that is the thing to do honor their wishes

My aunt did a lot of calling around, and ended up having it done in a very rough part of Phoenix, AZ.

My Dad was cremated (in Tucson) and the cost was either $800 or $900. Mom scattered his ashes in her back garden and she likes to go back there and visit.

Last edited Fri Jun 29, 2012, 07:30 PM - Edit history (1)

Display in a fancy coffin, be buried in cardboard...sound like the best way to go...if you already own a burial plot, or be cremated in the cardboard coffin..MY first choice.

the deceased in a very cheap coffin...it is worth looking into, it could be way cheaper than $2,000?

$1495 for a rental coffin.

All horror movies should include those people who suck the lifeblood out of the survivors of the dead!

to cremate and bury my father.

No viewing so no embalming and a inexpensive urn, turned out their was a beautiful dark blue urn that wasn't expensive so we where able to bury his ashes in some of the color of the Swedish flag which he would have liked. Of course it also helped that he was friends with the funeral director so that helped a little.