Frequently Asked Questions and How to Save $3000-$5000 on your funeral
How quickly can you get a Casket to me? We can usually get a casket to you in a matter of hours by airplane. Useing 8 major airlines to deliver it to an airport near you and then a hot-shot courier will pick it up from the airport and drop it off directly to the funeral home of your choice. We have axcess to direct flights reaching 160 USA airports.
What is the basic procedure to buy a casket from you?
Call us and give us a payment type and the casket will ship out that day to the funeral home of your choice. We will need to know the zip code of the funeral home so that we can calculate the cost of shipping. The whole time on the phone is less than 10 minutes.
What payment types do you accept?
We accept Credit cards or Debit cards, Master Card, Visa or Discover (no American Express). You can also wire the money from your bank to us which usually takes about 2 hours or for those wanting to pay cash you can go to you're nearest Western Union where you can send the money to us for a $12.95 fee and we will receive the payment in 4 minutes and ship your casket Call us for more information on how to send money by Western Union or our bank wire information.
MOST IMPORTANT ITEM: If I agree to buy your casket and then my family members do not agree to buy it from you, then what?Typically someone in the family becomes the decision maker in regard to the whole funeral service. They decide what funeral home and where they will buy the casket. Stay focused; the idea here is to help you save as much as we can.
How is the casket protected from shipping damage
The casket is shipped in the cargo compartment of the passenger airplanes. The casket is loaded in first and then the passenger luggage is loaded on and around it. On some planes, the casket can take up as much as 25% of the cargo space in the plane. The casket has large, 3-inch thick Styrofoam caps that completely cover the ends of the casket and then a cardboard box is placed over the top of the whole casket. There is roughly 3 inches between the outer box and the inner casket so if the box is ruffled on the outside, the casket will not be scratched or dented 3 inches below the box surface. We never have damage to our caskets during shipping although sometimes the outer box is scratched up which has nothing to do with the casket 3 inches below. After it gets to the airport the hot-shot courier typically picks up your casket and delivers it directly to the funeral home.Should I mention to the funeral home that I will be buying a casket from you?
Do not mention to the funeral home initially that you will be buying the casket from us because they will simply add the extra $3,000 to $,3500 that you were going to save to the other services so that the total funeral cost still comes up to the same. First get the itemized list (limo, body preparation, chapel, etc.) of prices and the casket (which is required by the Federal Trade Commission to be listed) has to be shown as a separate item. After you have checked pricing at several funeral homes, then tell the funeral home that you will be purchasing a casket from us. They cannot charge you for receiving the casket and must receive it. You must tell the funeral home that we will be shipping a casket to them. You can report the funeral home to the Federal Trade Commission online.
How will I know if I will need an oversized casket?Simply measure the person at their widest point to tell if they will need an oversized casket or not. Our normal caskets have an inside width of 23.5 inches and are 79" long (6 foot 7 inches). Normal guys that are 6 foot tall and 240 pounds can easily fit in a normal casket. The people that are 25 inches wide require the oversized casket A lady 5 foot 3 inches and 330 pounds and a man 6 foot 3 inches and 300 pounds; both fit in the oversized casket. The oversized caskets are 27.5" wide inside. If the person is wider than 27.5", then they will not fit in our caskets.
Will your regular sized and oversized caskets fit a standard sized vault?
Yes, all will.
Do we sell vaults?
"YES" But we are new at it and so far only in the Memphis / Mississippi area.
What comes with a casket?
Everything you see in the picture including the pillow, Allen wrench for unlocking it, lining (sealer) and memory tube.
What if we are preplanning or the person is in hospice? Can you store it for us?Currently we will not store your casket. You pay us and we will ship it to your residence or to the funeral home. The funeral home is required to accept our casket only if someone has already died.
What are your hours?We will be happy take your phone calls from 9 am 6 pm Monday-Sundays
How much is the expedited shipping
It's already worked in the price anything over 50 miles from the nearest airport to you will be charged $2.20/mile "One Way".Will the funeral home be upset if I do not buy their casket?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wanted to give consumers a choice of where to buy your casket realizing that the funeral home has a virtual monopoly now on the whole business. Now the funeral home is required to give you an itemized list over the phone and in person including a separate line item for the casket. You can then choose to remove any item including the $4,995 steel casket from the list and buy the casket (our $2,499 sealed and lockable steel casket) from us. They have to give you an itemized list. It is illegal for them to only offer package pricing or to not accept a casket from another supplier. Again, you can report them to the Federal Trade Commission
Why is the funeral home charging me $7,900 for an average funeral (not to include the burial)?
$7,900 is the cost of the average funeral in the USA now. That price includes there average priced metal casket of $4,500, and the rest of the service (limo, visitation, body preparation, chapel, etc.)My funeral home is charging me less than the average price that you have listed, Why?
Look at the other service fees, they are much higher? If they are higher, then obviously they have raised the other fees to give you a better deal on the casket, but the end price is the same.Do we give credit?
No. We tried and it did not work.Are our caskets guaranteed to not leak?
No one's caskets can be guaranteed to not leak.The funeral home already has the body and they are charging me like they are the only funeral home around. What can I do ?
Call us 662.560.5800 or 662.292.1372
How does the funeral home arrive at a price to charge me?
Some funeral homes have multiple price sheets. As you come in they are checking you out. How nice of a car did you drive in with? How nice is the jewelry that you are wearing? Who will be paying? How will you be paying? The last thing they want you to do is to shop around for a better price. They are obligated by law to provide for you in writing a itemized list. You are the decision maker, and you make the final decision but you are playing with the masters.One appalling thing that I have learned recently is when you first enter the funeral home, they want to know if you have an insurance policy and how much it is for.
What does this have to do with anything? Well the first thing they do is to call the insurance company to see how much the policy is for. That is how much they will charge you. Yes, they will spend every penny for you right there on the spot.
What about the Funeral Home's package discount?
The funeral home typically will charge you the $3,264 + casket ($4,995) to arrive at the average $8,255 service. What they do is inflate the services and if you buy the casket from the funeral home they give you a discount from on the casket. The end result is the inflated funeral sevice + discounted casket of leaves you with the same total price of $8,255. So they fool you again. Get the itemized list first showing the cost for all service fees, then cross off the $4,995 casket and have us send you one. Then your total for burial is $6,518 instead of $8,255 big difference of $ dollars there. Do not allow the funeral director to pick up the deceased until you have an itemized price list that you have gone over with him. If they do not give you an itemized list report them to the Federal Trade Commission at 1 -877-382-4357. See their web site for more details on the Funeral Rule at http://www.ftc.govRemember, everything listed above we have learned by talking to funeral homes and customers like you.
We feel like we are helping people at a time of grieving to avoid throwing away an extra $3000 to $5000 depending on the casket they slect Unfortunately, funeral expense is one of the leading causes of bankruptcies. Many people do not have the energy to shop for the best casket or funeral at the time of such grieving. Nice business to have a monopoly in.
Typical Funeral Prices
$1,278.98 Non-Declinable service charge
$ 489.51 Embalming
$ 180.92 Other Preparation of body (Cosmetology, Hair, etc.)
$ 304.84 Visitation/Viewing
$ 395.73 Funeral Service at Funeral Home
$ 234.17 Transfer of remains to Funeral Home
$ 181.24 Hearse
$ 150.00 Service car/van
$ 45.00 Acknowledgement cards
$3,260.39 Sub-Total
$4,995.00 casket 18 Ga. Steel, Sealer, Velvet interior
$8,255.39 TOTAL before vault
$ 760.79 Vault asphalt coated concrete sealer
$ 9,016.18 Grand TotalNow take our casket savings of $2,498 off the grand total of $9,016.18
And your new price comes to $6,518.18
CALL US 662.560.5800 662.292.1372
email info@midsouthinstall.com
