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Taphophilia (dot) Com...
A repository of morbid curiosities:
Thanatology and Taphophile Issues, Cemetery,
Funeral Industry and Death Related News.
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Graveyards of Chicago:
The People, History, Art, and Lore of Cook County Cemeteries
By Matt Hucke And Ursula Bielski. Discover a Chicago That Exists Just Beneath the Surface - About Six Feet Under! Take a tour of Chicago's permanent residents! Please visit the Lake Claremont Press website to purchase your copy of Graveyards of Chicago today!
Green-Wood Cemetery Arcadia Publishing announces the release of Alexandra Mosca's historic account of one of New York's most famous cemeteries. Aracdia Publishing's Images of America series has an extensive catalog of many cemetery publications! Please visit Arcadia Publishing to purchase your copy of Green-Wood Cemetery and to browse other available titles!
Men of Mortuaries Calendar
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Epitaphs: The Magazine for Cemetery Lovers By Cemetery Lovers
For information regarding subscriptions, single issues, submission guidelines, deadlines, classifieds or advertising for future issues, please visit The Cemetery Club.
Guardians of the Soul: Angels and Innocents, Mourners and Saints, Indiana's remarkable cemetery sculpture
with photography by John Bower and foreword by Claude Cookman is now
available. Please visit
Studio Indiana for more information.
West Springfield Massachusetts: Stories Carved in Stone by Rusty Clark features information on early New England gravestone carvers with more than two hundred photos and illustrations. Please visit the Dog Pond Press website.
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EDITORIAL: In market for casket? Shop till you drop |
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Written by DeadGirl
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Monday, 23 August 2004 |
By Al Lewis
Denver Post Business Columnist
Have you ever been shopping and the instant your eyes fell upon an item, you just knew that it was going to be yours? That's how it was when I went casket shopping last week.
I went to www.funeraldepot.com, "Where overpaying is not dignified," and there it was. My heart palpitated.
For $2,195, it comes with an 18-gauge steel exterior and a premium white crepe interior. It also includes a gasket that will keep the elements from leaking in - and me from leaking out.
The appealing part, though, is that it's painted to resemble an express mail package wrapped in brown paper and string. On the lid, in bold red letters, it reads: "Return to Sender."
My shopping expedition began after Costco started test-marketing caskets at a store near my hometown in suburban Chicago last week. Costco sells six models from Universal Casket Co., all $799.99 and delivered within 48 hours. They're right next to the mattresses.
I called my mom and asked what she thought of the deal. She lives nearby and could be considered a potential customer, despite her plans to complete her doctorate next year and live past 100.
"Why are you asking me this question?" she asked.
"Because I'm researching the casket market," I explained.
"Well, I deserve a better burial than that."
What my mom deserves is the "Promethean Bronze," available at funeraldepot.com for $18,250. The polished exterior on this box makes it shimmer like a giant brick of gold.
It comes with 14-carat gold hardware and an adjustable bed. It's made by Batesville Casket Co., which offers 15-year warranties, although I don't think I would exhume my mom just to see how her Promethean is holding up.
Funeral directors like to sell caskets as part of an expensive bundle of goods and services. But Federal Trade Commission rules prevent them from denying customers their right to shop around. That's where companies like Casket Mart come it.
"Mortuaries really have a lot at stake here," said Diane Kamm, who with her husband, Tom, owns Casket Mart stores in Wheat Ridge and Aurora. "They may make $1,000 when they sell a casket, while we'll only make $100. "
Kamm sells cheap because caskets are a sideline; her main line of business is cremation. In Colorado, about half the customers require urns instead of caskets.
"These days, a lot of people would rather be sprinkled on a mountain," Kamm said.
At Casket Mart, though, you can try before you die. A customer once slipped inside one of Kamm's demos when she wasn't looking. "Uh, I'm just seeing if it's comfortable," the customer said.
You don't have to be dead to appreciate a finely made casket.
At casketfurniture.com, you can buy casket-shaped furniture, including coffee tables, sofas and entertainment centers that can be broken down into coffins when needed.
"Our products can last you a lifetime, and still be the perfect vehicle to carry you to the great beyond," the company boasts on its website.
Several companies sell themed caskets. It seems you can get almost anything painted on your box, including religious icons, college logos or murals depicting favorite pastimes.
For the outdoorsman, there's "Memories of the Hunt," available at funeral.com. Because sometimes you get the bear, and sometimes the bear gets you.
At casketxpress.com there's one for NASCAR buffs called "The Race is Over." There's also one for golfers called "Fairway to Heaven."
You also can build your own casket. Kits and plans are available at several websites.
"The idea for the casket plan was developed to help grieving families become part of the funeral process," goes the pitch at spokanecaskets.com.
Not for me, though. I hate the thought of my family slamming thumbs with hammers and bickering over screwdrivers - all of them losing their composure before I decompose.
Al Lewis' column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach him at 303-820-1967 or
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http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~130~2349175,00.html |
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