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Your Homework
The Good Lord watches out over those who look after themselves…
or at least that's how the age-old adage goes. Enough to say,
if you're considering investing in any business, investigate
and gather as much information as you can.
Information Checklist
- Make an in-person visit to as many funeral homes in your
area as possible. Explain to the staff member that you are
on a fact-finding mission to gather pricing. Ask for a copy
of the funeral home's general price list. This itemization
of all the services that they provide must be presented
upon demand.
Next, ask to see their casket selection room. You may ask
for a copy of the funeral home's casket price list, but
they aren't legally required to furnish it. They are required
to have prices clearly posted with every casket displayed.
Don't be afraid to take along a note pad and pen. Write
down the manufacturer's name, type of material used in the
casket construction (i.e.: 18 gauge steel/20 gauge steel/hardwood/what
type of wood/is it solid hardwood or veneer)
This initial information will give you a point of reference
to enable you to decide if casket retailing is financially
viable.
- Contact different suppliers of caskets. Explain that you
are thinking of opening a store and would like to get wholesale
prices.
Note that even with tighter regulatory laws pertaining to
the funeral industry, the major casket manufacturers will
still only sell to licensed funeral directors.
- Matching up funeral home prices against casket wholesale
prices, you can begin to formulate the financial feasibility
of a casket store.
As a matter of record, the wholesale cost of an 18 gauge
steel casket starts at around $600.00. This is a medium
thickness of steel (20 gauge being the thinnest/20 sheets
= 1 inch, 18 gauge/18 sheets = 1 inch, 16 gauge/16 sheets
= 1 inch).
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