Are funerals too expensive?

Question

In marketing class today we looked at how some funeral casket sellers try to sell the most expensive casket availabe and then work their way down. Each level down made the buyer feel worse and worse. To what extent do you find it ethical for businesses to use emotional appeal to sell their products?

There was a CNN report on this issue as well, if you are interested you should look into it. It involved sellers using caskets made of particle board to make higher sales.

Anyways the point I am trying to make is that the bigger funeral companies are trying to take advantage of us simple folk (because they have share holders to answer to) if you could have seen the footage I saw today you too would choose the smaller "Ma and Pa" funeral services over the larger companies.

Well Mark, there will never be a shortage of death. So maybe the funeral business is a good one to get into if you don't mind. It is for sure a stable market. But, having people sell $11,000 resting places and making people feel bad for wanting cheaper seems to be the aim of many larger funeral seller operations. I don't feel that a guilt trip for wanting what you can afford is an acceptable practice for businesses these days. Hugely unethical I feel, but not illegal.

Answer 1

Funerals are expensive. If they are too expensive is a question everyone must answer for themself. There are always cheaper options. No one "has" to have a funeral just like no one "has" to have a wedding.

About 1/3 of funerals are preplanned. This makes sense because you make decisions when you are thinking logically and are not rushed. The other 2/3 that are arranged at the time of a death are really just reacting to a family crisis and they will have more of a tendancy to overspend even if no one encourages them to.

Contrary to common belief, when people preplan a funeral, they are not actually paying the funeral home. You make a contract with the funeral home for what you want and you select a funding vehicle for the contract (usually a bank trust or an increasing benefit life insurance policy.)

Your funding vehicle is owned by you (not the funeral home) and you can transfer it at any time or cancel if you want to.

If you are buying an insurance policy specifically to cover funeral expenses, you are much better off to buy it through a funeral home and have a guaranteed contract rather than the "final expense" or "burial" policies that most life insurance companies want to sell you.

Back to your question...yes, funerals are expensive. Shop around.

Answer 2

Its unfortunately like any other business where sellers press buyers to 'buy it now' and use all sorts of unethical sales tactics.What they wont tell you in marketing class is that in the marketplace, its a war between buyers and sellers and will always be. War being defined as the need for sellers to sell stuff you need or not and buyers need to buy only what the need and the market or below price.

Thr flourishing funeral 'pre need' sales help reduce costs IF you are able to stay in the same geographical area. buying a pre need funeral does make sense if you buy it in DC and move to LA since the services are only rendered in DC.

Answer 3

Because you have to pay for a casket, which is pretty darn expensive, a LOT of work goes into those. You have to reserve your place at the funeral home, then there's the headstone (the more customized, the more work, the more expensive), and then the plot of land you have to bury the body in. All that adds up to a lot of money you need to shell out.

Answer 4

my friend used to be an auto repairer and he used to service a local wedding and funeral business's cars he then went to work for them as a driver and eventually he has set up business himself in funerals along with staff he is making far more money than he ever had in the auto trade and as he said its a cleaner healthier job he doesnt need to go out looking for work and some one dies eveyday he owns quite a big house now and a nice car holidays abroad etc so i guess there is money in funerals

Answer 5

It is reprehensible, but not illegal unless they emply deception. And do you notice no one thinks badly of these salespersons [it feels wierd to even think of them that way!] because they are 'so helpful' at such a terrible time in life?
The basics of business says, when the consumer knows and understands and is motivated to use their consuming power to pressure or threaten business using such tatics, that businesses will continue with what brings the most buck- for them and their salespersonnel.

Answer 6

No, certainly not. Business is a Business, for a businessman, who so ever he or she is. What is Ethics? or Emotions. Their are business persons in a business, and they are "EMOTIONALLY YOURS" most 'ETHICALLY' !!!!

Answer 7

Yes, it is in deed very, extremely expensive. No body can afford it twice. can anyone?