Can you believe this ......Wal-mart is now selling caskets.....

**sabrelvssammy** · 10-29-2009, 02:10 PM

I just read that walmart.com is now selling caskets for you to 'bury your departed'.....

I just happen to think that is absolutely utterly disgusting.....where are they going to draw the line.......

This makes me think even less of them (if that is even possible)... do they have to 'cheapen' everything...and now they even want in on the show when we have to say goodbye to our loved ones....

Wal-mart you continually

me......

**fixer** · 10-29-2009, 02:16 PM

I would buy a casket from Wal-Mart except I am going to make my own. IMO the two biggest wastes of money are weddings and funerals. No matter how much you spend, you are just as married or just as dead.

**frugalfranny** · 10-29-2009, 02:16 PM

So does Costco.......do you shop there?

Will we be coming down to the new rule for the funeral homes???...."unless you bought your casket from us; we can't hold your funeral for your dearly departed".....should be interesting.

Did research YEARS AGO for a speech about markup on caskets and it was astounding........worse than furniture.....hmmmm.....give them a good profit.

**frugalfranny** · 10-29-2009, 02:18 PM

Originally Posted by fixer

imo the two biggest wastes of money are weddings and funerals. No matter how much you spend, you are just as married or just as dead.

amen fixer!!

**Inkstain82** · 10-29-2009, 02:18 PM

I'm not seeing the problem.

**Missy** · 10-29-2009, 02:35 PM

I don't have a problem with it either. I mean, I am not in the market for one so I wouldn't be buying one no matter who is selling it. And for what it's worth, when MIL died we were already pretty traumatised by it. we had her taken to a funeral home that sells beautiful caskets for her viewing...wanna know what they put her in? a cardboard box...like a hamster in the backyard... with a tablecloth draped over it...not to conceal the box (it didn't) but to make her box coordinate with the drapes. THAT cheapened her passing. and they sold lovely caskets. So, I guess what i am saying is that it works both ways.

**MaryCarney** · 10-29-2009, 02:58 PM

I just want to be wrapped in newspaper and put out for the trash guys

**nuisance26** · 10-29-2009, 03:07 PM

~I read that too. A coffin is just like anything else, really. There's a demand for them so there's profit in selling them. Nothing to get upset about.
In fact, if you find a good deal you can buy one now and use it to store stuff in the garage until it's needed for its' final purpose. It's just a large, fancy box. Might save your loved ones a hassle later.
I plan to make my own as well.
Personally, I think all the money that's spent trying to make dead people look better(and better off) than they were when they were alive is 'cheapening'.~

**Inkstain82** · 10-29-2009, 03:11 PM

It's funny how the highest markups are found in areas of our life when there's the most emotion involved.

And by "funny" I mean infuriating.

I couldn't stop Grandma from buying BabyStain (9 weeks old) a "play center." It's a plastic mat with two plastic rods of dangling plastic toys, and a few lights that blink. I would feel wasteful spending $5 at a garage sale for it, and I doubt it cost $2 to make. Price: $59.99. Because it's "for your child!"

The only thing he's shown any interest in playing with so far is a shiny fruit snacks wrapper that made a crinkly sound when he grabbed it and made him smile.

**MaryCarney** · 10-29-2009, 03:18 PM

Originally Posted by Inkstain82

It's funny how the highest markups are found in areas of our life when there's the most emotion involved.

And by "funny" I mean infuriating.

I couldn't stop Grandma from buying BabyStain (9 weeks old) a "play center." It's a plastic mat with two plastic rods of dangling plastic toys, and a few lights that blink. I would feel wasteful spending $5 at a garage sale for it, and I doubt it cost $2 to make. Price: $59.99. Because it's "for your child!"

The only thing he's shown any interest in playing with so far is a shiny fruit snacks wrapper that made a crinkly sound when he grabbed it and made him smile.

Told my folks to buy me nice pots and pans and Tupperware 'cause that's all they want to play with anyhow. (I like the BabyStain name!!!)

**nancycg56** · 10-29-2009, 03:21 PM

I don't have a problem with it either.

**Libby** · 10-29-2009, 03:21 PM

Hmm.....going on the supply and demand theory then - when will Walmart start selling adult pleasure products etc along with the unrealistic videos? Starts with coffins, whats next? Cars? Hahaha drive thru wedding locations?! (thinking of a better use for their photo/portrait studios)

**madhen** · 10-29-2009, 03:23 PM

A friend of mine recently had his mother cremated. She (the mother) had paid for the whole "package" prior to her death, but the woman at the Neptune Society convinced him that he should upgrade from the package and place his mother's ashes in an "eco-friendly" container (basically, a paper box). He got the bill for the box later - $200.

**sabrelvssammy** · 10-29-2009, 03:26 PM

oh believe me...i don't like the mark-ups on the caskets either..i am not an 'advocate' for the funeral home....funeral homes are another one of the 'biggest crooks' out there and they are 'preying' on those in an emotional time...and personally when i die they can just throw me in the back field and let the animals eat me for all i care...i am dead....i won't know the difference....but this is not a rant about funeral homes and their prices...(coz i could sure give an earful there)....

and there is nothing wrong with making your own casket if you choose to...there is nothing wrong with being wrapped up in a blanket and buried (if it were legal)....there is just something 'creepy' about going to wal-mart (or costco) and picking up a casket along with your gallon of milk.... i guess i just think there should still be certain 'sacred' things that just aren't purchased at the 'big-box' store....but that's just my opinion...sounds like you guys think it seems pretty normal.... ah well...to each his own...'that's what makes this world go round right..?'.....

**madhen** · 10-29-2009, 03:30 PM

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. I see sabrelvssammy's point, that Wal-Mart, seeing a profit to be made, will basically rob any dignity that might have been left out of death and probably end up trying to pawn off some pressed board crap with oak veneer on the general public. But I also agree that paying thousands of dollars for something that is just going to be buried is just a little bit silly. When you take the emotion out of it, a casket is just another commodity, and everyone deserves a chance to get a bite out of the apple.

That being said, even though I don't believe in any type of existence after death, I would probably make an exception and come back and haunt any family member who sent me to my eternal rest in a box they bought at Wal-Mart!!