Third-party casket
A casket bought from a source other than the funeral home — Costco, Walmart, online dealers, local casket stores. Federal law requires the funeral home to accept it without a handling fee.
Funeral home casket markups commonly run 300–500% above wholesale. The identical casket the home shows in its selection room for $4,000 typically retails online for $1,000–$1,400, delivered to the home within 2–3 business days. For traditional burials, third-party caskets are the single largest cost-savings opportunity.
The FTC Funeral Rule explicitly requires funeral homes to accept caskets bought elsewhere and prohibits any handling fee, inspection fee, or surcharge tied to a third-party casket. Homes that resist or invent fees are violating federal law.
Practical tips: order the casket as early as practical (delivery is 1–3 business days from most vendors), confirm delivery to the funeral home before the service, and bring the receipt to the arrangement meeting so there is no ambiguity that the casket is yours.
- Casket— The container the body is placed in for viewing and burial. Required for traditional funerals; optional for direct cremation (a cardboard 'alternative container' suffices).
- Casket handling fee— A fee some funeral homes try to charge when a family buys a casket from a third party (Costco, Amazon, an online supplier). Illegal under federal law.
- FTC Funeral Rule— The federal regulation governing what funeral homes can and cannot do. In effect since 1984. Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission.
This definition is general consumer information, not legal, medical, or financial advice. Industry practices and regulations change occasionally; verify before relying on anything here for a specific decision.
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