Casket Markup
Why caskets are marked up 300%+ — and how to bring your own
What casket markup means for the price you pay
Casket markup at U.S. funeral homes typically runs 300-500% over wholesale and 200-400% over equivalent online retail (Costco, Walmart, Amazon). The FTC Funeral Rule explicitly forbids the funeral home from charging a handling fee for an outside-supplied casket and forbids the home from refusing to accept one.
Markup at retail funeral homes
Retail funeral home casket markup typically runs 300-500% over wholesale. A casket the family pays $3,500 for at a funeral home is typically a $700-$1,200 wholesale unit. The same model from a manufacturer like Batesville, Aurora, or Matthews Aurora is sold to funeral homes at standard wholesale rates and marked up at the home's chosen retail level.
Online retail prices
Costco, Walmart, Amazon, and dedicated casket retailers (Trusted Caskets, Best Price Caskets, Casket Hub) sell the identical or comparable units at 200-400% lower than retail funeral home prices. Typical online retail casket prices in 2026:
Retail casket prices — funeral home vs. online
| Casket type | Funeral home | Online retail |
|---|---|---|
| 18-gauge steel, basic | $1,995 | $695-$995 |
| 20-gauge steel, premium interior | $2,995 | $995-$1,495 |
| Solid wood (oak or pine) | $3,995 | $1,295-$1,995 |
| Solid wood (mahogany or cherry) | $5,995 | $2,495-$3,495 |
| Bronze or copper | $8,995-$15,995 | $3,995-$7,995 |
How to bring your own casket
- Order the casket from Costco, Walmart, Amazon, or a dedicated online casket retailer. Most ship within 2-5 business days.
- Notify the funeral home in writing that you are exercising your right under 16 CFR § 453.4(b)(1)(ii) to provide outside-supplied merchandise. The home cannot refuse and cannot charge a handling fee.
- Confirm the casket dimensions match the home's facility (especially for chapels with narrow doorways).
- Arrange for delivery direct to the funeral home; most online casket retailers offer this with no additional fee.
- Confirm the home's policies on refrigeration, viewing setup, and any specific requirements (some homes require specific casket-handling equipment).
The federal protection against handling fees is unconditional. If the home tries to add a handling fee for an outside casket, request the home's written FTC Funeral Rule compliance statement and report the violation at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Pricing source disclosure
Every dollar amount on Cheap Funeral is sourced from each funeral home's published General Price List (GPL) under the FTC Funeral Rule (16 CFR Part 453). The Rule requires every U.S. funeral home to provide an itemized GPL on request — by phone, in person, or in many cases online. Where a home has not published a GPL we mark the listing accordingly rather than estimate.
National benchmarks throughout this article are drawn from the National Funeral Directors Association 2023 Member General Price List Study (NFDA, July 2023), which reports the median U.S. cost of a funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300 and the median direct cremation at $2,495.
Common questions
Frequently asked
What if the home refuses my outside casket?
Federal violation. Report at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The home may not refuse and may not charge a handling fee.
Related reading
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Cheap Funeral publishes the direct cremation, basic burial, and memorial service price for every U.S. funeral home that has filed a GPL. Browse by state, ZIP, or price tier.