Costco Caskets- Pros and Cons. Other Options to Buy Casket Online
Costco is a name that is almost synonymous with soda and chicken. So caskets at Costco seem very unlikely.
However, Costco Wholesale has had caskets in its inventory since it started test-marketing them in 2004. As of today, Costco sells caskets of different styles and price ranges. Presently, Costco sells the entire funeral category through its online platform. In America, the average expense for a funeral can be between $8,000 and $12,000. The burial plot, the coffin, and other cemetery services all come at an additional fee. Right after the funeral service charges, the casket or the coffin makes up a chunk of the funeral expenses. So getting a good deal on caskets at Costco sounds like a good option sometimes.
But are coffins Costco good options? What is the quality of these coffins, and do they come at affordable prices? Here's everything you need to know about buying a casket at Costco.
Caskets at Costco
Caskets at Costco come in two different categories:
Wood caskets
In the US, coffins of solid poplar wood are very popular, and at Costco people can find one or two options for these coffins, and these are sometimes can be used for open casket visitation. However, you can also buy a Costco casket for cremation. On the other hand, a Costco casket can be suitable for visitation types of funerals. One model that can be used for both cremation and burial, can be used also for the funeral of religious groups. In comparison to this retail giant, the Trusted Caskets company has plenty of options of wooden caskets in different designs and price ranges at the lowest prices.
Metal casket
The metal caskets Costco are also available for delivery. This type of Costco casket is a bit fancier in design than a wooden coffin. The 18 gauge steel caskets come in different colors: blue, silver, and light pink. The gauge steel number indicates the thickness of the metal. These products also can be used for the open casket visitation type of funerals. In addition, steel coffins also come with inscriptions such as the Lord's Prayer. You will also find a category of Costco casket with a marker, especially for mothers.
Unlike the wooden coffins, Costco's 18 gauge steel caskets are ideal for memorial service where cremation is not a requirement. In comparison to these metal caskets, here at Trusted Caskets, we offer not only exactly the same models, but many more choices of metal caskets, and our casket prices are even more affordable. So if you work on the budget and try to save some money, Trusted Casket is the best choice.
What are the prices of Costco caskets?
A coffin purchased at Costco will cost you different amounts depending on the type of casket you buy. At the moment that article was written, the price of coffins at Costco costs between $1149.99 and $1,499.99. Compared to the price of coffins at funeral homes, Costco's wholesale price is a good deal as you can save money from funeral expenses. Costco's coffins price includes the shipping and delivery charges, which is fantastic. But you need to confirm shipping delivery time to be sure the casket purchased can be delivered on time.
The average cost of a regular casket in the US is between $2,000 to $5,000, according to funeral statistics. So in this regard, if you buy a casket from Costco's online inventory, you can cut funeral costs in a significant way.
Trusted Caskets proved its name and well known in the US by not only the best customer service, but also we offer "The best casket price guaranty", so our customers can be sure they have the best deal possible.
Does Costco have a caskets delivery service?
Yes. Costco has delivery options for coffin orders. However, the company will only deliver the coffins to a funeral home or a mortuary. This means that Costco will not ship or deliver the coffins to a private residence, warehouse, or any other business location. For Costco site to deliver the coffin to the right location, you need to provide the following details:
- Deceased's first and last name
- Name of the mortuary or funeral home
- Mortuary or funeral home address, along with phone number
In case you're wondering whether funeral homes can accept a coffin delivery, you don't have to worry. The Federal Trade Commission requires funeral homes to accept coffins from third party sellers without any issue or extra charge.
In fact, if a funeral director or mortuary does not accept a third-party coffin delivery, you can report it to the commission. In addition, a funeral home or a mortuary can accept the coffin delivery even if you are not present at the location. However, as soon as you confirm the shipping delivery time of the coffin, you need to inform the funeral home about the delivery ahead of one business day.
Unlike mentioned above the retail giant, Trusted Caskets offers caskets delivery everywhere in the US, including residential addresses, or any other locations. Most of the people prefer to ship the casket they bought directly to the mortuary, and we suggest the same since these reduce the delivery time frame. So wherever you need a delivery casket, call us at (800)950-4042 and we will arrange it for you.
How long does Costco take to ship a coffin?
Costco ships and delivers all coffin orders within three business days, depending on availability. However, the website also states that weather-related conditions and limited circumstances can delay delivery. And according to the reviews of the customers, not all the coffins are available in stock at Costco.com, even if they are listed online. It is worth pointing out that Costco's shipping and return policy for coffins is a bit tricky, and you must confirm the coffin order before it gets shipped from the warehouse. Furthermore, the caskets can only be purchased by Costco members.
Costco wholesale site also states that all coffin orders need to be placed before 10 am local time, for you to receive them within three days of the same week. If you miss this order window, delivery of your coffin order can be delayed by several business days, especially if you place the order on the weekend.
You also have to confirm shipping delivery time and the rest of the delivery schedule when placing the coffin order. The big-box retailer also offers express delivery of coffins. However, express delivery at Costco comes with additional fees, which is understandable.
Costco accepts returns of their coffin orders, provided it has the return authorization from the person who purchased it. However, Costco also states that returns are limited to coffins with cosmetic damage. The problem here is that people who buy the coffins, doing this on purpose, and usually this kind of purchase needs to be delivered asap, and in case of damage, or any other issues because this takes some time to get a replacement coffin delivered to your mortuary, so in some cases, this can be risky. Another issue with Costco wholesale casket shipping and delivery is the limited location of their service. Costco delivers the coffins to funeral homes in 37 states only. So if you need to order a coffin online and you live in one of the states that Costco does not deliver, you might want to try shopping with different casket retailers like Trusted Caskets who ship to all 50 States.
With Trusted Caskets you don't need to confirm shipping delivery time, all this information is indicated online and the customer can see the estimated time at checkout. We offer our customers a quality guarantee on all our funeral products, and we have guaranteed delivery services as well, so our customers can be sure of on-time delivery. We ship our caskets on the day we got the order and do everything possible to ensure effortless delivery for the customer.
Are Costco coffins good in quality?
Caskets from Costco are relatively good in quality, especially compared to their price. As we've mentioned earlier, burial caskets can cost an average of $5,000, with premiums costing up to $10,000.
Both the metal and the solid poplar caskets are of decent quality, and the bedding and furnishings are also good in these products. In fact, caskets from Costco that are priced higher can rival a premium coffin in terms of appearance and aesthetics.
Caskets at Costco are definitely giving competitors in the end-of-life market good competition, although the quality of the coffins at this giant wholesaler is by no means top-notch.
Nevertheless, Costco caskets are fairly reasonable in price, and they have made access to affordable coffins possible for almost everyone. However, Costco caskets come with certain limitations, including limited shipping options and very few types of coffins. In addition, shopping for a casket at Costco is also restrictive as you have to verify availability and so on, which does not make the online retail store a solid option.
Trusted Caskets company offers the same caskets you can find on Costco's site and many more options in addition to them. We offer the same casket quality since our products are made in the same factories. In addition, we supply with our products some of the local funeral homes as well, so possibly when you see some casket at the funeral home, you can buy it directly from us at a lower price. As mentioned, we offer a quality guarantee on our funeral products, and in the case of any defect, we will replace them for free.
Is buying a coffin from Costco a good option?
Death is an unpredictable event that no one has control of, even if some people opt-in for funeral preplanning. So access to online platforms where you can purchase caskets at reasonable prices is a definite welcome. In such cases, buying a casket from Costco is indeed a good option, but it is always a good idea to check several different places before placing your order since there can be a better option for the caskets online, like for example funeral casket company Trusted Caskets, where we offer the lowest prices for the coffins on the US market, including the models from Costco.
If you order the caskets on time, it takes only a few business days from the warehouse to your preferred choice of a funeral home. But of course, to confirm the shipping delivery time of a casket, you need to check and verify availability first, this is a very important step since according to our customers, some caskets are out of stock at Costco often.
However, shopping for caskets at Costco's website is not ideal if you live in one of the states where shipping is not available. In addition, buying a casket from Costco may not be the best idea if the shipping address is something other than a funeral home. This online casket retailer will only ship coffins to a mortuary or a funeral home.
If you looking at the options to ship the casket without any limitations you always can place the order with Trusted Caskets, to be sure the casket is delivered on time and with no issues. We have our shipping policy here, and you can find the estimated delivery time to your area easily. If you need even more detailed information on the delivery process, please don't hesitate to call us and we will manually check the delivery time to your funeral home.
Another situation where buying a Costco casket is not ideal is pre-order. Unlike our online casket store that allows you to pre-shop for a casket, you cannot do so at Costco. So if you have plans to purchase an affordable casket and save money from your funerals, Costco is not the right choice. For these kinds of situations, you also can call to Trusted Caskets customer service hotline and we will provide you with all the details over the phone.
Alternatives to Costco coffins - what options do I have?
If you're looking for Costco coffins alternatives, there are several options.
First, you can check out the caskets from Trustedcaskets.com, we offer all the casket models Costco has in stock but at lower prices, and we have much more casket models. We do not ask to have any membership like Costco, and anyone can order a casket from our store with delivery anywhere in the US. Another two options are Walmart and Amazon, but these retail giants are just platforms for the small companies who sell the products there for commission, the retail giants do not sell the caskets themselves. Basically, they are middle-man between casket provider and customer, and in some cases, this can cost not only higher price but some other issues.
Price
At Walmart and Amazon, sellers list the prices in the range of about $1000 and go up to $3,395, but the listings themselves look out of date with not clear pictures, so it is hard to say if the information there is accurate. You get a lot of options to select a casket that is either basic or another that is premium in quality. The problem is that the casket sellers on these platforms do not often update the information in the listings, including pricing, and availability. The biggest disadvantage of these options is that the casket you decided to buy, or the casket you have placed the order can be out of stock, and this information is never listed online. Unlike Trusted Caskets, who keep the site up to date all the time, and indicate if some model is out of stock, so customers can be sure if the coffin they like is available. So if you want to be 100 percent sure you getting the casket for the funeral firsthand, and at the best price possible, the casket company Trusted Caskets is the place to go.
Different selection
Another reason to check out the casket selection at Trusted Caskets is the varied selection. You can choose a casket of wood or metal, or cremation casket, and we always have extended selection of casket colors and designs are more than the ones at Costco.
Shipping
The shipping time for a casket order from Walmart and Amazon is about two to three business days(according to the listing) from the warehouse to the shipping address. But of course, the shipping delivery time depends on factors, including availability, weather, and many different factors, so, unfortunately, this is not always the case. If you need to be sure about the delivery time for the casket, call Trusted Caskets at (800)950-4042, our representative manually checks the delivery time for every single customer to be sure of on-time delivery.
Another drawback of casket shopping at Walmart is the shipping charges. Although the price quoted next to a casket may seem affordable, it does not include the shipping charges. Shipping charges for a Walmart casket are $49 to get it delivered to a funeral home. Trusted Caskets offer the free Standard delivery option for many locations, so this is a huge advantage of the company, compared to other retailers.
Advantages of buying a casket from Trusted Caskets
Wide range of options
Casket company Trusted Caskets offers more options than big-box retailer does. The reason is that a third-party retailer has only caskets in their inventory. So you will have plenty of caskets to choose from – different styles, designs, price ranges, and so on.
Here at Trusted Caskets, we only sell the caskets and coffins we have in our own inventory, at our warehouses, unlike some other casket resellers. All the products listed on our site are available and if some of them are out of stock, we do not hide this information from the customers like some other companies do, by listing 100+ models online, but in fact, they have only 5-8 in the warehouse.
This is in stark contrast to big retailers such as Costco and Amazon. Since the brand deals with a million other items on their catalog, the caskets are an addition to the line-up, and these platforms do not always pay much attention to the service, unfortunately.
Free shipping
Third party casket sellers, including Trusted Caskets, also offer free shipping to have them delivered. This is a fantastic option since caskets are by no means cheap and can add significantly to the overall funeral costs.
Quick delivery time
Another reason to purchase caskets at third party sites is the quick delivery time. For instance, at Trusted Caskets, our guaranteed delivery time is between one and two business days within California, Arizona, Nevada, and some other States. Of course, you have to verify availability and confirm the shipping delivery time of the casket at the time of purchase, since obviously, the delivery time can not be the same for all the areas, but quick delivery takes the stress out of the entire process. If you compare this to buying a casket at Costco, the delivery time and policy are complicated to navigate.
Financing options
As emotionally taxing as a funeral can be, not having the money to purchase a casket can be very difficult. Some of the best third party retailers offer casket financing options to help with this stressful situation.
At Trusted Caskets, we have a partner program with PayPal for casket financing. Financing for caskets is infamous for extremely high-interest rates. However, our casket financing program is interest-free for up to 6 months; it is instantly approved and has minimal requirements.
The verdict
So, are casket at Costco worth buying?
The straight answer-It depends. Giant wholesalers including Costco, Amazon and Walmart have made access to affordable caskets, reducing the overall costs of memorial services in the United States.
However, if you dig deeper, the coffin selection is pretty limited, and so are places where they can be delivered. In addition, there are several hidden factors, such as inflexible shipping policies, which make everything a little bit more complicated. And of course, the customers must check the casket availability first, before placing the order online, since according to the customer's reviews, some caskets can be out of stock, and unfortunately, this information is never indicated online.
Buying a casket from Costco is only recommended as a last resort.
If you are looking for better casket options – the best casket price, free shipping, and a range of options, among others, get the casket by Trusted Caskets, our company always stands behind its name.
Blog Author: Tim