|
Choosing caskets is probably the most important and most difficult part of planning for a funeral. Caskets come in a wide variety of styles and colors with many customizable adornments, and their uses are just as varied as their looks. Depending on ones culture caskets are buried directly in the ground, placed in a burial vault, or even cremated along with a body. Some more eccentric souls, such as actress Sarah Bernhardt, have been known to even sleep in a casket. Caskets are a loved-ones final, eternal home, and, therefore, care should be taken so that selecting a casket is not done hastily – or by just one or two people in a family. Prestige Memorials has recently added an extensive selection of caskets to its line of funeral products to help with this. We have made every effort to make our collection one of the best available on-line, and we invite your family to use the wonders of the Internet to share in the selection of your loved-ones casket -- no matter how scattered your family may be.
We hope you will keep in mind when choosing caskets that the Federal Trade Commission has strict laws governing the relationship funeral homes have with customers who choose to buy their caskets from other dealers. Here are a few of the more important rules that you should keep in mind: Funeral homes may not refuse to accept caskets purchased from another dealer. They, likewise, may not charge for a handling fee for caskets purchased elsewhere. In fact, they may not even ask to see a receipt for the sale of caskets bought from another dealer. (This is so they will not have unfair pricing advantages over competitors.) Funeral homes may not require families to sign disclaimers or otherwise waive any legal rights in regard to caskets purchased elsewhere. And, finally, they may not make slanderous statements about buying caskets from another dealer.
Here are some other important and interesting facts about caskets:
Since the early 1900s, metal caskets have been probably the most popular choice. Metal caskets rose to their status as the most common type of casket just as the Industrial
Revolution swept the Western World, and steel became the material of choice for thousands of consumer items. People flocked to metal caskets as soon as they became available because consumers wanted longer-lasting, sturdier caskets than the traditional lightweight wood could provide. By the time of World War I, most manufacturers had turned to making metal caskets exclusively.
Despite their popularity, metal caskets left the market for a few years during World War II, as steel was rationed world wide for military uses. But, as soon as metal became widely available for consumer uses again after the war, metal caskets quickly regained their popularity. By 1948, metal caskets, again, were just about the only choice available.
In recent years, metal caskets have started facing more competition from their hardwood casket cousins. Environmental concerns have prompted many consumers to choose the more easily degradable wood material instead, and, many experts say that bodies actually decompose more quickly in airtight metal caskets. But, nevertheless, metal caskets continue to be the most popular type. The sturdier, longer-lasting material is a comfort for many loved-ones. You can find all those options for caskets on Memorials.com
|
|