Posted on 11/29/2005 6:34:10 PM PST by hole_n_one
Laguna Niguel - Costco shoppers who glance left as they trudge toward the exit at this south-county store come face-to-face with a fact of life: death.
The casket display, while modest, often provokes a reaction. Caskets at Costco? Mouths drop. Some giggle, others say, "Cool!"
A few are offended.
"Oh. My. God," said Loui Cronholm, 62, of Beaumont. "It just gives me the creeps. I come here to buy bulk food - not to see that when I walk out the door."
Costco, the membership warehouse that sells everything from $4,000 plasma-screen televisions to bulk toilet paper, has sold the caskets online for just over a year. The company recently began testing the kiosks at four stores in Southern California after similar trials in the Midwest.
In Laguna Niguel, the display is next to drapery and carpet kiosks near the exit. Corner pieces of six caskets line the kiosk, which also has brochures and order forms. The Universal Caskets featured are all 18-gauge steel and cost $799.99 to $1,299.99. The Kentucky Rose, the most expensive, has a pink crepe interior, an embroidered rose head panel, and bronze-plated swing bar handles.
While the Costco display is small, it underscores a growing challenge to the funeral and mortuary business. A rise in cremations, discount casket sales and tough federal regulations are changing an industry that has struggled to shake its image of greedy undertakers that fleece the bereaved - an image that reputable operators say is unfair.
(Excerpt) Read more at ocregister.com ...
Tempus fugit, memento mori.
Deus Meus! Securis in capite meo est.
That's it. We all live, we all eat, we all pay taxes, we all die.
Oh yeah... do they sell double-wides? Those seem to be in high demand lately...
This is one way to face the idea of mortality.
Look familiar? :-D
DIY Cremation Kits can't be far behind...
That said, when my parents die, I think I'll pay the funeral home twice what I'd pay by going to Costco for that 'last minute shopping'....
I know Costco has a pretty liberal return policy, but geeeezzzz...
I just tripped over the online caskets on their website the other day. I didn't know they were putting them in stores now. I think it will turn shoppers off, or at least send them to the low-fat foods ;).
LQ, who's not going to bother with a box and wants to be cremated and sprinkled somewhere scenic instead.
I wonder how much you save by buying it at Costco instead of getting ripped off at a funeral home. I haven't priceshopped caskets lately - or ever.
lol!
It's not legal to toss me into a trash can, but do the next cheapest option.
I'll say goodbye when I'm alive. Anything done after that is a gesture.
"DIY Cremation Kits can't be far behind..."
Not in the Sheeple's Republic of FloriDUH - here the Communism Lite types managed to get air pollution regs passed that outlawed burning.
BBQ's are next. :-(
I noticed caskets on their website a couple weeks ago, and thought it was pretty interesting :~D
Cremation kits: 5 gallons of gas and a match!
Comparable to buying all your groceries at the 7-11 for a year or two instead of the grocery store.
Buy a nice salmon filet to smoke...and you're set!!!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.