How to Save on a Funeral
We recommend no funeral home over another. We have no funeral home affiliation.

18 Gauge vs. 20 Gauge caskets.
18G Caskets are heavier in weight than 20G caskets. 18G Caskets have locking mechanisms, rubber gaskets and memory tubes. Whereas most 20G caskets are lighter in weight and do not have these features. Some funeral homes claim to match our prices by offering customers 20G caskets for the same price as our 18G caskets. There is nothing wrong with a 20G casket, just don't pay over $700 for it, and know the difference in price and quality.

Do not mention us until after the bill is written.
Negotiate pricing before you tell them you will supply your own casket. Once they know they will lose the casket sell, they will be less likely to bargain, and may pad other line items to offset their loss. One customer best described it like this:

"When you negotiate the purchase of a car, you don't tell them you
have a trade-in until after the bill is written. This is no different."

Get the total bill in writing (with their casket price), after all pricing has been confirmed, cross off their casket and let them know you will supply your own. This is the only true way to realize your savings. If they change any initial prices, then call the FTC, because that is highly illegal! Federal Trade Commission: 877-382-4357

After they find out you will supply your own casket, unfortunately the tone of the conversation may change.

Know Your Rights (The FTC Funeral Rule).
The Federal Trade Commission has stopped funeral home price fixing by allowing you to purchase funeral home products from other sources. Before they enacted this law, you had no choice but to buy the casket from the funeral home, which is why their prices are so high. They knew you had to pay it, and could not go anywhere else. To help consumers, the FTC created the Funeral Rule. Now you can buy caskets from places like WalMart, Costco, and of course The Main Street Casket Store.

The FTC recently made this ruling April 19, 2010:

"...while disparaging the quality of third-party caskets does not necessarily violate the Funeral Rule, funeral providers may be held liable if they make material misrepresentations about third-party caskets that are false, misleading or deceptive."

Full text of the FTC advisory opinion is available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/funerals/opinions/opinion10-1.pdf.

Other Ways to Save.
(1) Avoid Saturday services. You could probably save $1000 in cemetery and funeral home fees by simply having it on another day. Transportaion, opening and closing at the cemetery, police escort, etc all get more expensive on Saturdays.
(2) If your family does not require a visitation, then you could have a Closed Casket Service. This may save thousands! You could possibly avoid embalming fees. You can definitely avoid dressing and cosmetology fees. You can have a memorial service with your loved one's picture next to the closed casket. There are a range of options and other ways to save if you have a closed casket ceremony.
(3) Have a graveside service. This is probably the least expensive way to have a non-cremation burial. We have had customers do graveside services for less than $2000 excluding cemetery fees. Call us if you have questions on how to plan this type of service.

(4) Buy your casket from us. Some funeral homes will use scare tactics by saying it won't arrive in time or may arrive damaged. We are local, and personally deliver each casket to assure safe and quick delivery. By using our caskets your saving could look like:

	Avg Funeral Home	Main St. Casket Store	Savings
20 Gauge Casket	$1500	$500	$1000
18 Gauge Casket	$3500	$1000	$2500
Wood	$4000	$1000	$3000
Copper	$6000	$2400	$3600

(5) Buy your flowers directly from a Florist.
(6) Buy you register book from a party supply or greeting card retailer.
(7) Buy your burial markers from us. We average 75% less than a funeral home or cemetery. Click here for more information.

Know Average Funeral Costs
-Get at least 3 funeral home price lists in your area. If any funeral home will not give you an itemized list, report them to the Federal Trade Commission at 877-382-4357.
-Forget the packages. Packages are impossible to compare from one Funeral Home to another. They hide true costs of the service fee, embalming fee, and the casket.
-Look at their list and compare the major ticket items and compare the service fee, which for the Cincinnati area should be around $1700. If the fee is higher, and you really like that funeral home, you can show them the other service fees, and they will be inclined to match those prices.
-Once you have settled on a funeral home, use the individual price list like a menu. Select the basic services that would be the minimum necessary for a funeral service with out including a casket.
-Then compare their casket price to our casket price. Do not let them know you may get the casket elsewhere until the very end or they will be less inclined to lower other prices. If they know they are going to lose the casket sale, they may try to make up for it in higher service fees!

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the funeral home accept products that I buy elsewhere? The answer is Yes. THE FUNERAL RULE:
* They may not refuse service, cause duress, embarrassment, or cast aspersions in any way onto persons choosing to bring their own products into a funeral home from an outside source.
* They may not alter routine charges based on the acceptance of outside merchandise.
* They may not require the family to present at the time of delivery.
* They may not charge any fee for handling or inspection that would discourage third party vendors of caskets, vaults, monuments, flowers, or printed material such as registry books and acknowledgement cards.
* Remember, we can save you money, even if you use our prices to negotiate a cheaper casket from the funeral home. We're just trying to help...

Will the funeral home charge me a handling fee?
No. By law the funeral home can not charge you a handling or service fee when you choose to buy a casket from a third party.

What rights does the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Funeral Rule provide me?
The Funeral Rule, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), protects consumers by allowing them to purchase funeral items, such as caskets, from a source other than a funeral home, without being penalized in any way.
When you begin the arrangement process, the funeral director, by law, must give you a General Price List of the goods and services they provide. With the exception of the non-declinable fee (the basic fee of the funeral director and staff, which must be accepted), you can select or omit any item on their general price list. The funeral director cannot change the prices on their list, charge you a fee, or offer you a different price list to penalize you if you wish to buy a casket elsewhere.

What types of caskets are available through Main St. Caskets? We offer a wide variety of brands, styles, colors, and materials. Some of these include steel, hardwood, and copper. Some are domestic, but many are imported. Do not be afraid of imported caskets. Many "Big Brand" domestic casket companies manufacture their caskets outside the United States, and our quality is just as good, if not better.

What if I see something somewhere that I would like but do not see it online? If you see something somewhere you would like let us know and we can arrange to get it for you. (513) 241-0003

When will it arrive? Most of our stock is in our downtown store and can be delivered at a moments notice. Caskets that are not in our local stock can be delivered next day if ordered by Noon. Just let us know when and where you need your casket, and Eric will make sure the casket arrives on time, guaranteed.

How may I pay for the items I decide to purchase? You have three options to pay for your casket. You may pay with cash, cashier's check, or credit card.