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Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Why Don’t We Use More Cheap Caskets Imported From China?

Caskets: they’re boxes that we use for a funeral service and maybe a wake, then either stick in the ground or burn up. Why do we spend so much money on them. More importantly, why are 95% of all caskets used in the United States made in this country when everything from the device you’re using to read this post to the sweater I’m wearing right now was made in China?

There are two ways to look at this: it’s nice that the casket business hasn’t migrated offshore, keeping American manufacturing jobs in the important sector of corpse boxes. Yet the reasons why casket showrooms aren’t full of $400 Chinese versions of caskets that usually cost five times that much will make you want to put down the flag you’re waving.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm a big fan of made in America - but I detest the "if you can't beat 'em, litigate 'em to death" mentality that our court system allows!

Anonymous said...

As the article says, "It's a box with a quilt in it", and "It only has to look good for one day."
Sounds like a prescription for cheap knock-offs.

Anonymous said...

Costco was the first store to offer caskets directly to the public without going through the undertaker. This cuts into the obscene profit made by the death industry but I am glad to see someone finally step up and question the status quo.

Anonymous said...

Cremation is the way to go. You can't continue wasting land on a cemetery.

Anonymous said...

Exactly 10:21-Humans continue to waste even after death.It does not make sense.