Grave Matters: Why Are Caskets So Expensive? | HowStuffWorks

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Douglas "Dutch" Nie is the CEO and funeral director at Nie Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Nie and his six sisters grew up in a home above the family business, and he and his wife purchased the funeral home from Nie's parents in 2000. Nie's own kids now work there, too.

When it comes to the price of a casket, Nie says there are a lot of variables, which is why he says he can offer families a no-frills casket for as low as $900 to a high-end casket that runs $6,000 or more. The biggest differentiator is the material with which the casket is built, and there are two main types of casket material: wood and metal.

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buying caskets at Costco
Zenaida Solero looks at casket samples at a Costco store on Aug. 19, 2004, in Chicago. Costco, the world's largest warehouse club, began a test program to sell caskets at two stores in Chicago in 2004. It was so successful the company rolled it out nationwide. Tim Boyle/Getty Images

"With a wood casket, you can equate it to furniture," says Nie. "A mahogany, hickory or walnut casket is going to cost far more than pine or oak."

For metal caskets, the less expensive models are made of 20-gauge steel, while the priciest are constructed from semiprecious metals like copper or bronze. For both wood and metal caskets, the quality and details of the craftsmanship — rounded corners instead of welded, for example — will also determine the price.

Then there are other considerations like the material inside of the casket. A crepe interior is going to be less expensive than velvet. For a military burial, the family might want to customize the interior with an Army or Navy seal. All of those upgrades and details can add up.

Nie insists that despite the high average cost of a casket, most funeral homes carry a range of caskets to meet the budget of everyone in their community.

"No one is going to say, 'We only sell Cadillacs here, not Chevrolets,'" says Nie. "We have something for everyone."

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