The truth is that purchasing what is needed for a funeral can be a daunting experience for everyone.  One reason is that people do not have experience in this area as they do for buying furniture or a car or even a house.  They have little basis for comparative shopping and don't know what to look for when the need arises.

While mortuaries are required by law to have a price list for their goods and services, this list is less about fixed costs and more of a basis for negotiating.  An uninformed consumer has no way of determining which charges are legitimate or which prices are reasonable.  And this becomes more complicated when the mortuary sales person offers a package discount.

These packages often blur the lines between products and services, making it difficult to do comparison shopping among mortuaries.  A further complication is the category of professional and service fees, which can vary dramatically from one mortuary to the next. 

Most mortuaries offer to handle paperwork for death certificates and to submit the obituary to the newspaper, for extra charges.  Once a package deal is signed, it becomes nearly impossible to renegotiate any part of it. 

Flowers provided in the package can cost many times more than flowers purchased from a neighborhood florist, not to mention from the local grocery store or from friends' gardens.

Caskets purchased from local artisans or discount outlets can be many hundreds if not thousands of dollars cheaper.  A home made one by a family woodworker would be fine.  And the mortuary is barred by law from charging a fee for using a casket provided by the consumer.

Viewing time at the mortuary can be costly; charges increase by the hour.  Paid staff for this is included in fees.  This is a reason to have a viewing in a house of worship or private home.

Of course, cremation is much less costly.  And the ashes can be placed in a special container provided by the family; an urn supplied by the mortuary (usually expensive)  is not required.

In future articles, we will discuss other hidden costs, including  cemetery plot purchases and memorial/funeral services, and we will offer some suggestions for making reasonable funeral purchase decisions.