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What Is Involved In Getting A Casket?

For the majority of traditional type funerals, the cost of getting a casket is probably the single biggest expense. They are available in all different shapes and sizes (just like bodies) and can be manufactured from many different materials, some obviously more expensive than others.

Caskets for burials are generally made from:

  • wood (hardwood like mahogany, oak or cherry, or the cheaper soft wood versions such as pine)
  • metal
  • plastic
  • fiberboard
  • fiberglass

Typical casket costs for a traditional type funeral can start from around $2,000 but may be as much as $10,000 for something special made from mahogany, copper or bronze.

Choosing a Casket

Caskets are generally chosen for how they look, they are, after all, the final resting place of the nearest and dearest and many people find it extremely important to have a grand looking casket. The Funeral Law means that your funeral provider is legally required to provide you with a fully itemized price list of the caskets availabe before they show you any examples. Research suggests that most casket shoppers buy one of the first three caskets they are shown (generally the one priced in the middle) so it really can be beneficial if the funeral provider shows you the top end of the market, so to speak. If you aren’t shown any examples of the cheaper models ask to see them, but don’ be surprised if they don’t have pride of place in the display.

Buying a Casket

It has been a long standing tradition to buy a casket from the funeral home, but these days there are third party sellers who also offer them for sale. You can buy your casket from wherever you want to, and your funeral director cannot refuse to handle a casket which has been bought elsewhere, or charge you a handling fee. You can simply order a casket online if you so wish, and have it delivered directly to the funeral home – it just might pay you to shop around a little.

When buying your casket just remember that it is simply a vessel to transport the body in a dignified manner before burial or cremation, and no casket will last forever, although some do take longer to decay.

Getting a Casket for Cremation

If you’ve ever been to a cremation and been horrified by the waste as a beautiful mahogany casket disappears behind the velvet curtain into the fiery furnace you’re not on your own, but it might not be as bad as you first thought. It is very often possible to simply rent a casket for a cremation, it is not necessary to buy one, so you can still have your loved ones laid out in a beautiful casket for visitations etc, but it is simply rented from the funeral home. Other options are to choose a much cheaper unfinished wood box or similar container for a direct cremation, where no visitations are required. Funeral homes are required by law to provide this service so if you want it, just ask!

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getting a casket


getting a casket

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