Titan Casket's online sales disrupting funeral industry 

Thank you so much for this wonderful coverage of our company and mission. Our small team works SO hard every day on behalf of our client/families, and helping the public know they have federal rights and options when it comes to funeral planning (whether Titan is the right choice for them or not!). This coverage will help so many families - education is so important. Thank you CBS Sunday Morning!

Sometimes an industry needs to be disrupted. Especially one that takes advantage of grieving families.

As a Hospice RN, I have witnessed the distress families face with the traditional funeral home experience. TITAN, thank you for offering a choice.

My Dad’s casket was quoted at $3600. Came back the next day to the funeral home with a quote from Costco for $1600 for the same casket. They honored the price and saved me $2000.

She's right about funerals costing too much in this country. I helped bury a vet from my Legion Post who had no next of kin that was a Sailor during the Korean War. He had paid for his cremation in advance and it cost him about $600 a few years ago. We ordered an urn off of Amazon for like $25.00, and the Post paid a little over $100.00 to transport his remains to the VA cemetery. The vet was buried in an above ground standing crypt called a columbarium for free. His internment, the headstone, memorial service, 21 gun salute, folded flag, and a Presidental memorial certificate, were all provided for free from the feds. We got the sailors entire funeral taken care of for about $800, and about 20-30 people attended the service as well.

My father told me one morning over my bowl of cereal that he'd paid for his cremation and how he wanted things after he passed. This was in the 90s, fast forward to the early 2010s and when he passed it was all taken care of. Slightly morbid conversation for the breakfast table but afterwards it was a comfort to not be on the spot for making decisions. The topic is scary to think about yes but talk with your relatives, ask questions. Find out what they want, afterwards it will be too late.

I can tell you that my father had a long and painful death from cancer. A certain bank (might be from any Citi), was calling him every single day with "pay up" from using his credit card to bury his wife (my mother). On a visit, I found out this was going on. We paid of the credit card, then used it to pre-pay for his funeral. I used his ID to open a PO Box a few thousand miles away, and changed his address. My father was a bank employee before he retired, and the bank from any "Citi" was dunning him mercilessly. You guessed it, by the time they figured it out, his estate was settled and they ate the funeral costs because they were idiots. I could have paid it off, but I think they made several of his last months miserable, so f* them.

I loved seeing Caitlin in this story! She's such an* amazing advocate. 🖤⚰️

Love this! The funeral industry in the US is such a complete scam…

The funeral industry is a Cash Cow... HUGELY profitable!!! Thanks for shaking it up, I appreciate this video, the knowledge of alternatives.

I was looking for a royal purple casket for my mother and came across Titan. It was a great purchasing experience, and I saved enough to buy an upgraded vault. People commented that it was a beautiful casket unlike any one they had ever seen. It was perfect for my mother. I highly recommend Titan.

My mother donated her body to science through the Maryland State Anatomy Board. A year later, I got her cremated ashes back. A week after her death we had a great memorial service for her. Not having to arrange a funeral, plot etc saved me tons of stress and money.

I, forgot to mention I was a Mortuary Science major, many years ago. Thank you, Titan for all you're doing. Gorgeous workmanship and quality materials, inside and out.💐

Well done on including Caitlin Doughty in the discussion. She has established herself as an advocate for the families of the deceased.

Thank you for helping millions of grieving families with a casket that's affordable.

This is long overdue. Thank you, and Congratulations to the Titan

This is amazing, have told my only child in our recent " life discussion" when I turned 65 last year to go for it! As someone who lived in small, close-knit college town, my parents were extremely close personal friends with both funeral home families & I babysat for them. Never saw the list, never offered informed choice, and I was a single parent & my dad was teacher, mom never worked, thru died '03 & '09 with 2nd mortgage & no savings, so Mom lived month to month on SS. I was guilted into spending so much on funerals, took years to pay off. This is fantastic!!!! Telling all my friends!

I love Kaitlyn Dougherty. She is a breath of clean air in the miasma that is the funeral industry. I have watched her videos and she insightful, knowledgeable, and conveys empathy about death and dying. Many years ago I had to write a paper in college about the inflated costs in the funeral business. And it was extremely eye opening. I spent many hours looking at trade magazines and comparing costs. I went to numerous funeral companies and inquired about cost. Of course, I didn't tell them I was writing a paper for a class, but wanted some info as one of my parents were dying. What I heard and saw was blatant theft of money, by the industry, during a time of family grief and sorrow. Remember, back in the late 60's, there was no internet or Amazon. Now I mostly do what shopping I need online. Also, now I am 70 yrs old and my children know I am to be cremated, no costly service or viewing, my ashes to do what they wish, after all, I'm already deceased and don't care about my remains. An lastly, throw a party to celebrate my life. I should mention my body is going to a research facility and when they are done, they will cremated my remains and send my ashes back to my family at no cost to them.

Part of the issue is the mass consolidation that is happening in the industry. It used to be that you had a local family-run funeral home. Over the past several decades, these large companies have bought these mom-and-pop companies. So you end up with some of these mega-corporations owning hundreds of funeral homes posing as mom-and-pop businesses, but now there is no competition. They can get away with charging the prices they do as they secretly own all the surrounding funeral homes in the region.

I salesman called me up, trying to sell me a casket. I told him “sir, that’s the last thing I need.”

Caitlin's RU-vid channel is *Ask a Mortician.* She's as much a Historian as Mortician. Fascinating videos!

I recommend Titan to everyone. I've been a funeral director for over 10 years!

When my mom died in 2016 the cost of her funeral service ended up being about $7000 which i feel is egregious because her service wasn't long enough for that price to be justified. There definitely needs to be a reform with how the funeral industry operates and a financial cap on how expensive the service can actually be

My father was a Veteran and the VA only pays for the dirt. I was fortunate enough to have the funds to afford the rest and let me tell you Titan saved me sooo much money. Had it shipped to the funeral home and was very pleased with it. It was beautiful! Sparkly and all... By law the funeral home must accept the outside casket company deliveries.

Thanks Titan for helping out all the grieving families without putting a hole in the wallets.

The man who built it couldn't use it. The man who bought it didn't want it. The man who used it didn't know it.

Thank you so much for this information! After managing my parents resting place years ago, I am now preparing for my own. This is really great to know!

Such a shame to monetize on death (the two main companies selling to only mortuaries). Thank goodness Titan is in the industry, their product and business is truly an act of service.

There used to be a company called Funeral Depot that sold caskets direct to consumers. It was in business in 2003, but I don't know what happened to them since

I love this!! My Dad died 5 years ago and I could not believe how expensive everything was. It really is disgusting that funeral home take advantage of people will they are at their lowest.

Most people don't know that there is really only a few casket companies in the country and for the most part they are all made the same. I worked in a cemetery and I learned a lot and I can tell you don't waste your money on an expensive casket. Once you're in the ground no one will ever see it, unless they dig you up for some reason. Also, don't believe the claims that some receiving vaults are waterproof and others are not, that's 100% crap. If you open a vault regardless of the guarantee you will find water in it. It's because the ground temperature is constant and the air temperature is rarely the exact temperature of the ground, so when you close the vault it traps the humidity in the box and as the temperature changes to the ground temperature condensation forms and leaves water in the vault and again unless someone digs you up that guarantee is worthless, because you will never know. Also the final thing I learned is this, preplan your funeral. I know it sounds morbid, but sometimes there is unscrupulous people in the world, who prey of those at their darkest hours. Don't ever tell the funeral home or cemetery how much life insurance you have on the person, because sometimes those unscrupulous people will help you spend every Penney of that money plus more. Make your wishes know to your loved ones and be clear to them that just because you don't spend a lot of money on their funeral, doesn't mean that you didn't love them very much.

There is an old saying. When you cry, you buy and the funeral parlors are hoping you cry. Such a waste of money. We are donating our bodies to the University of Buffalo. Hopefully a student doctor to be can learn from our lifeless bodies and go on to safe the living.

I love Caitlin Doughty!!! Ask a Mortician is a wonderful channel 🧡

If you can get a casket at a lower price, why not. I'm glad Titan is in business. It is about time another company, gives those GREEDY funeral homes a jolt in the pocket book.

Our family love their caskets. We've ordered 5 so far‼️ They made our sorrow easier to handle.👍Job and service well done. We are going to remain loyal customers.🙏🌺

Amazing people and an important mission being accomplished with style and grace. Thank you, Josh Liz and Scott.

What's the difference? A casket goes in a vault or in some cases just under ground and the body decays! My father died unexpectedly 37 years ago,he was loved by many,the funeral home had to park cars across the street. My mother spent $10,000 the same it costed for my wedding 5 years earlier! It was ridiculous, and as a family we all decided that cremation was the only way from then on! My beloved sister died last year and it cost $1,000 ,beautiful container and very nice people to work with! No fuss!❤❤❤

This is a good story!! It’s about time funeral homes feel some emotional pain!

YES, TALK with your Loved Ones ahead of the inevitable! It makes things so much easier. ALSO, have you done a segment on Green Burials? Thanks for this particular piece. ❤

Funerals are ridiculously expensive and really unnecessary, but to each their own. I love Caitlin!

I think this is fantastic, thank you so much for making things easier for people at such a hard time in dealing with loosing a loved one

Will they drop ship it to the funeral home ? Will the funeral real home accept delivery? I can easily imagine a few unscrupulous funeral homes adding on all sorts of “fees” into their itemized services price list, as a means to recoup the lost casket sales revenue, such as: 1)delivery acceptance fee 2)shipping pack unpacking fee 3)storage fee (until populated) 4)packing fee - populating the coffin w/ it’s resident 5)styling & showcasing fee - making certain all is ready for display 6)exit fee - room breakdown and clean up 7)deposit fee - hearse mileage plus loading/transport and unloading fees Humor intended, but still a reasonable expectation given how things are today….

My stepfather didn’t have the $ to buy a casket for my mother outside of the funeral home because they were willing to make a claim against her life insurance policy. I had some $ saved and loaned it to him to buy as much as he could from private co. Saved him thousands in his time of grief. Thanks Titan

Buyer beware! As a licensed funeral director, funeral home owner and a educator, I can honestly say that this piece is somewhat misleading. Prior to the 1984 Funeral Rule, line itemization for the purchase of a funeral was not required. Therefore the industry as a whole placed the entire cost of the funeral to the price of the casket mark-up. And while the 1984 Rule enactment was a light switch for the consumer, it was a gradual shift for funeral home owners who gradually shifted the pricing of the funeral from the merchandise into the service side. Today, some 39 yrs later, funeral homes as a whole tend to put very little mark-up on the casket because the wholesale cost is so high to begin with. Therefore for the first time in industry history, owners can legitimately compete with 3rd party retailers. Also, and this is VERY IMPORTANT…. It is legal for a funeral home to offer you a discount on professional services if you select a casket from them. This means that firms can legally markup- the professional services by the average median profit from the sale of a casket and charge you those prices if you elect select services “a la cart.” Example - You walk in the door and select a traditional funeral and the total professional cost is $6,000. However, I offer a Service Package Price for the exact same set of services that is discounted by $1,000 (or $5,000) if you purchase a casket thru our funeral home. This exact practice is completely legal and in fact, encouraged by the FTC which wrote the enacted the Funeral Rule, because it encourages competence pricing and gives YOU the consumer more options. Finally, and I think this is important to me as a consumer and not a funeral director - the person I would hire to handle my parents funerals has ultimate responsibility for ensuring that everything I select is just the way I want. The lights are on, the temperature is comfortable, the coffee is made, the remains are dressed, the register book is ready, and the casket I selected is not scratched or dented and arrived on time. That is not always the case with 3rd sellers. You never meet them. They are not licensed funeral providers. They are not regulated by the 1984 funeral rule (which they failed to tell you in this report). They are not in business to care for your family. They are in business to sell a product. That is it. When you buy a casket from the funeral home, you can hold them responsible if it is not to your liking or if it is dented or doesn’t arrive on time. You have recourse. That isn’t the case with an internet provider. These are things to consider when it comes to caring for your loved one. Who can you trust? The person you meet with at the funeral home, who you can hold accountable, or the person you never meet who had UPS deliver a dented or scratched casket to the funeral home? This is what I tell all my families- peace of mind is powerful. If you feel comfortable buying a casket online, go ahead. We must accept it. But please, beware of the possible consequences resulting from your decision.

My Mother passed in 2010. Picked out a casket online for $1400.including shipping. Got it within 48 hours. No problem with Funeral Home using it. Wife's Grandmother passed in 08. Her casket was also bought online, so they have been available online at least that far back.

As a funeral director for over 25 years, I have always done whatever the families have asked of me...as long as it is legal. When caskets became available online, I never gave a family a hard time about doing so. But I will tell them to make sure the company is legitimate and will stand behind their product should something happen and to make sure the caskets are made here in America. If it is made outside of America, it is subpar and not worth the quality. Two weeks ago, a family purchased an 18 ga. Stainless Steel casket from an online store. I told the family that we require someone from the family to be present when it was delivered. The casket was ordered on a Monday and did not show up until the morning of the calling hours, which was three days later. What got delivered was an 18 ga casket but not the one they picked. On top of that, it was filthy. The family had to purchase one from us. I did give them a discount for it because they were so upset. I am not saying every casket store is bad. But if you choose this way of purchasing a casket to save money, do your homework.

I love it. Great idea. I've thought about planning my own service for years! Pick my own casket, have wrapped, pin striped, grandkids names on it. Whatever I want I get to choose. & store it in my garage till its needed!

I bought my mother-in-law a beautiful casket online that she got to see and approve as part of her funeral arrangements. It stayed in my storage locker a couple of years until she passed away. It cost only $1000, where the same casket at the funeral home was over $3000. The savings was used to allow for an additional service in her home town where she lived most of her life and had more family and friends. It made perfect sense and we were not at all disappointed.

How much is the box the casket comes in? You can bury me in that.

Amazon does sell any thing from A to Z.

Titan caskets is amazing! I bought a beautiful casket for my mother in 2021. A pinkish rose color with embroidery of praying hands and the price was so reasonable. And unfortunately I lost my husband a year later and I used Titan caskets again, and I ordered a gorgeous military (Navy) casket for my husband. The funeral home had theirs vaults painted to match the caskets and then engraved the top of the vault lid. Everything g was gorgeous! I was very happy with the way things turned out. Thank you Titan

I have been following Caitlin for years...Ask a Mortician.

Anything that exposes the absolute scam of the funeral industry is needed!

My husband purchased a headstone for his mothers gravesite. It was a fraction of the price but the next place looking to rip him off was the cemetery.

On a similar note - I want to know prices of plots at a nearby cemetery but I should'nt have to fill out forms with my personal information on there first before getting those prices

WELL DONE , the Funeral industry has made it to expensive to die !!!!

I've never understood the point of an elaborate padded coffin, I'll be a CORPSE, I don't give a crap how comfortable or nice it looks I'm pretty busy being DEAD. Just dig a hole and throw me in, the Earth gets the nutrients it gave me back and there's no chemical filled casket to pollute the soil. At least Titan is helping reduce the financial grief of the family not just the emotional so I'm all for that

As I was watching this, I was thinking to myself, that would have been so cool if they interviewed Caitlin... and then there she was! I'm so glad she's getting credit and recognition for all the great work she's doing educating the masses about death, dying, and the funeral business while positively disrupting the industry. She's incredible.

This was incredibly informative and eye opening. Thank you for showing this.🙏🏻

Caitlin = voice of reason

Good for them. Love seeing a small business stick it to large companies and help people at the same time

I love this! Did not even know it was available. I can buy WHAT I WANT and keep it here at the house until it is needed. One less expense and decision for my estate to make.

I didn't know this and I just buried my dad in July, and I had to plan everything cuz mom was sick and was in the hospital. I would of saved 4,000 bucks easy if I would of known.

i want to see this with other industries as well.. for example..internet companies.

YESSS! “Ask a mortician “ is one of favorite channels on RU-vid!!!

Even in death, companies will squeeze every cent out of you or your family.

*Funeral home caskets* and *furniture* are the most highly marked-up items you will ever purchase. 💸 💰 💸

If IKEA was smart they would come out with a bookcase that could be converted into a casket. In Florida we have or used to have the funeral consumer alliance that helps members obtain low-cost funeral services in their area. I think they have this in many parts of the country. Do a Google search for funeral consumers alliance. If you die your love ones can contact the alliance and be advised of the cheapest cremations, etc. in your area.

Those damn things looking more relaxing all the time...

Glad this story came out. I’ve known about the Amazon and Costco casket/urn sales for awhile now and can’t help but shake my head when friends spend 10s of thousands of dollars on a funeral for their mom/dad. Some people might feel guilty when they find deals like this or at places like Costco because in their mind they might be thinking they’re being disrespectful for “cheaping out” on mom/dad’s funeral but I highly doubt that they would want you to go thousands of dollars into debt on their behalf. Same thing goes with head stones. That’s another funeral industry that needs to be turned on it’s head.

Costco sells caskets

I am not going to have my parents cremated. Like they're being tossed into the burn pile and discarded like rubbish.

Costco also sells wood caskets for $1k, pick up at the store. I have bought 3 so far and it's great!

In Costco in Miami, you can buy Casket, and they will even put it in your pick up truck so you can take it home.

Thank you for providing this kind of services... Funeral Homes, are just a big rip-off 😮

Imagine buying something for $2000 and then burying it. What a waste of money. You can buy caskets that are more eco-friendly such as wicker coffins, plywood coffins, and cardboard coffins.

This is sooooo important!!! The cost is toooo high!!! The funeral homes cost $20,000!!!! They, funeral homes, have the market tied up. I had to pay $20,000 to cover my moms funeral. And we were told that cremation was just as much cost wise!!! 😢

The amount of Joy I have seeing Caitlin Doughty 🎉 yessss direct reliable source!!!

With rudimentary carpentry skills you could build a simple pine coffin. Or be cremated with no need of one.

People are usually so distraught when planning a funeral, they may not have the presence of mind to search for bargains. They may pay a higher price at a funeral home, because it's more convenient. This lower price service is much needed.

Hi! I'm two months away from graduation from mortuary school. Any funeral director that goes "hard sell" on someone to purchase a casket isn't worth their salt. I believe that people should choose whatever casket they wish and it's the director's job to educate them in any way that is helpful. There are lots of nice caskets at just about every price point. The only things that's worrisome about the Titan caskets is the fact that, should the unit be damaged during shipment, it might take time to get another one. Second, you are making a large purchase no matter whether you buy the casket on line or in person, and some people like to be about to touch the casket, look inside, inspect it before they buy. You can't do that with caskets online. Finally, if you purchase a casket from a funeral home, a lot of times you can buy a "package" that includes casket, services of a funeral director, embalming (if necessary), etc. and you get a pretty deep discount on the casket. If you bring in another casket, you might not be able to get the package deal. But absolutely -- you can buy a casket online or anyplace else and the funeral director won't say boo. This isn't a knock on Titan at all -- this would be for any online casket purchase.

I NEVER KNEW THIS! Thank you for sharing!

The logical conclusion: "How much for the cardboard box?"

This company is doing an absolute service. Good on them. As someone who spent a brief amount of time in the funeral industry, it is an absolute racket. Funeral directors are nothing more than salespeople who know how to embalm. Even the people who run cemeteries are viewed as sales people and numbers are expected from them by cemetery boards to keep their jobs.

Excellent, its about time a company is about compassion as well as money. God bless Titan Caskets for their philosophy and their prices. Btw: thank you for interviewing Catlin D. as well. Love her RU-vid channel. She has helped many people understand death and the death industry.

Beautiful Story! Thank You.

I want my casket custom designed to look like a drum set or a guitar! Lol

Something better ....Human. Compost .... Help the Earth 🌎.....😊.... just my opinion

I agree. Before my dad passed from cancer I found out then he had no life insurance coverage. Had it at one time but let it end without telling me. Because of this I know it would be coming out of pocket and due to doing the cost alone, decided to use the funeral home for some parts but do most on my own. Ordered, the casket myself, used copy center to create my own obituary, rented small venue for dinner afterwards and did the food myself. The funeral home wanted around 8k total. My way was around 4k which fit the amount I had in my savings.❤ It would have been less stress allowing funeral home do all, but because it was my dad, gave me strength to plan and execute everything on a budget but still send him off with a lovely service. So I understand this woman well!!!

I did this 22 years ago, as did my mother. Only one manufacturer offered by mail then. Saved a bunch.

My family has been in the funeral industry for over 80 years and I can tell you unequivocally the quality of the casket doesn't matter, but the quality of the vault matters a ton! If you don't get a quality vault, your casket will not be protected.

THE AMERICAN WAY OF DYING A VERY GOOD BOOK ❤️

This is not new to my family. Funeral homes have high markups and pray on family members who are grieving and just want to send their family members home the best way possible. My family has been doing this for approximately the last 25 years. Amazon has made it considerably easier. I purchased an urn for my uncle, same model as the funeral home was offering for @ 60% savings.

They did not say that much , on the pricing on their caskets. If this helps with the American people , I am all for it !!!!!! Funeral costs in the United States are way out of line , so are the insurance cost. Both are rip offs !!!! 😮😮😮 Both need to be regulated , they are out of control !!!!!!!!!! Kevin Phoenix

Thank you Titan for helping people who need help in a tough situation

Since the Canadian company took over 85 percent of the funeral homes the price has quadrupled in 1972 when I was a senior in high school I worked as a night man for a funeral home 3000 dollars was a 25000 dollar funeral today most coffins cost around 500 to1000 dollars if a parlor offers you a coffin for 9000 dollars it is a 1500 dollar casket cremation starts at 900 to 1500 dollars

When my brother passed away we chose to have him cremated...the funeral home worker assisting me with arrangements insisted that he needed to be cremated in a special coffin that would burn easier...cost me an extra $1,900. So I literally burned $1,900. still makes me angry they took advantage of me.

I didn’t know anything about this stuff in 2021 when my dad died. Ronald B. Jones in KY refused in a subtle way, to let us know prices of stuff until we were billed. I asked about urn prices and they’d say “don’t worry about it, it’ll be included”.. when I mentioned ordering online, they literally told me a story about a girl who ordered from somewhere else, who went to prom with a little urn necklace and her gpa’s ashes broke all over her. Then they told me that the guy who makes the urns, lost a child and wanted to make “affordable urns” for their funeral home. They had a story for everything..

My grandfather paid for his resting place in a building in a cemetery before he died. He was cremated and so was my grandmother and both of their urns were put into this casket place in a building on the cemetery. There are hardly any spaces left in cemeteries and they are very expensive. I believe that is why many people are now being cremated. It would be wonderful if people had a place to visit their loved one, But it's not affordable anymore. It takes a special permit to be buried on your own land, I don't think many people do that nowadays but it was very common before the suburb When people had family homesteads.

AHHH!!! CAITLIN!! I LOVE!! How dare you not link her channel, CBS.