By George Anderson
Costco thinks there's money to be made in dying. Go to the warehouse club's Web site and scroll down the product categories for sale listings until you come to the link for urns & caskets. (Click here.)
The company has been offering caskets for sale at prices well below what consumers are charged by funeral homes. It is now following suit by selling funeral urns between $64.99 and $89.99 compared to the $250 to $600 often charged by funeral homes.
Costco, said Renaissance Urn Company, in selling funeral urns, is demonstrating its commitment to its customers by focusing on their real life (or afterlife as it may be). "Today many families are choosing to scatter their loved ones and often they need to travel via airplane to different parts of the country or world to do so."
Moderator's Comment: What do you think of Costco's expansion into online sales of funeral urns? How will the company's push into this business impact the funeral store industry? Will other mainstream retailers follow Costco's lead?
We think it was Mark Twain who said, "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
Dying is an expensive proposition. Although it does weird us out some, we have to congratulate Costco for addressing the real need to make burying or cremating a loved one more affordable.
We personally know of at least one woman who donated her body to a medical school, in part because of what it would save her family in funeral home and related expenses. - George Anderson - Moderator