Casket shopping? Try Wal-Mart

Don't look for them on the shelves of your local Wal-Mart store, but Walmart.com is now selling caskets and urns at bargain prices online.

The Associated Press reports that Wal-Mart quietly added these items to its huge online selection last week. And it noted that Costco has been selling caskets and urns online as well. Who knew?

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This is great news, we think, because the exorbitant prices charged by funeral homes have been one of our pet peeves for decades. Funeral homes are required by law to accept a casket you buy elsewhere -- and can't charge you extra if you do.

No pine boxes at Walmart.com, but you can go for a steal on stainless steel for $895 (it's made in the U.S.) and only one of the caskets listed there sells for more than $2,000. Wal-Mart's caskets come from Star Legacy Funeral Network Inc., which sells caskets at its own Web site. Costco has comparable prices.

How much is shipping? Wal-Mart's site doesn't make that immediately clear, but Cheryl Phillips wrote at HULIQ.com, "It seems a bit final to press the 'Add to Cart' button but it's the only way to find out how much shipping is. Average shipping for a Wal-Mart casket is $99."

This latest Wal-Mart venture has produced lots of snarky comments online. For instance: "Would you rest the soul of a loved one with a product purchased from Wal-Mart?" a blogger wrote at The Huffington Post.

Why not, if we wanted to be buried for a dirt nap? But we'd rather be cremated, so we looked at the urns. Between Wal-Mart and Costco, the selection was pretty impressive, including a biodegradable model at Walmart.com for $69.99. There's also an nice selection of pet urns.

One more thing: If you order one of these products online, the only way you can return it is if it was damaged during shipping. 

Related reading:

• Plan a funeral for $800 or less
• Plan -- and pay for -- your own funeral
• What's to love about Wal-Mart?
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