Company name: Affordable Caskets, Inc.
Location: 903 Warwick Ave., Warwick
President: Michael D. Quaine
Type of business: Casket retailer
Number of employees: One
Revenue: WND
Year founded: 1999
DISPLAYING HIS PRODUCTS is Michael D. Quaine, owner of Affordable Caskets, Inc.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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There’s a window display at the Gold Plaza in Warwick that is sure to catch the attention of shoppers, but it’s unlikely the product is on their shopping lists.
A silver, 22-gauge steel casket – door opened – isn’t what you would expect to see during your normal shopping experience. Affordable Caskets Inc.’s owner Michael D. Quaine says that’s exactly the problem with the death industry.
Quaine said he opened the store, the state’s only casket retailer, early this year to help put the product in the mainstream and give people an alternative to buying coffins solely from funeral homes. He said the funeral home industry has profited handsomely due to a lack of competition.
“People can’t afford to die,” said Quaine, standing in the middle of his showroom of coffins. “Families are being dramatically over-priced during a painful time in their life. It’s just not right.”
Quaine said his prices, ranging from $595 to $3,975, are between 40 to 75 percent less than those charged at funeral homes. He said that’s because the company buys directly from a casket manufacturer and also doesn’t have the same overhead costs as a funeral home.
Federal law prohibits funeral homes from refusing consumers who provide their own caskets. Also, funeral homes cannot charge a handling fee or raise the basic service fee of a funeral.
The American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) estimates there are now more than 300 casket stores in existence. The businesses are spreading throughout the country and are most popular in California.
Quaine, 42, of Warwick, who also runs MDQ Design and MDQ Power Washing, decided to go into the casket business after caring for his sick mother for 11 years.
“I saw how the elderly were being treated and didn’t like it. I wanted to do this to help people. I wanted to give families the ability to bury their loved ones at an affordable price and with dignity,” he said.
After three months in business, the company has sold five caskets, which Quaine said is encouraging when considering the traditional buying habits of Rhode Islanders.
“It’s hard to convince people here, because they are so set in their ways. (Ultimately) it’s going to come down to price and people are going to wise up,” he said. Funeral directors say the differences in pricing boils down to overhead costs and may not be as far apart as Quaine says.
“The casket store is just a casket store. That’s all he does. The overhead is minimal,” said Craig Carpenter, treasurer of the Rhode Island Funeral Directors Association. “What the funeral home provides is services and facilities to bereaved families.”
Carpenter said the funeral home also provides convenience during a very difficult time. All products and services can be purchased at one place and bought from someone whom families typically already have a relationship with.
“Rhode Island has a lot of very long established funeral homes that are 70 or 80 years old. Most families have a history with us and have confidence and trust in us,” he added.
Carpenter stresses while casket retailers promise the lowest prices, it’s important for consumers to shop around.
“The important thing is for people to compare prices and that means not forgetting about the funeral homes,” he said. “Also it is important to make sure when you are comparing prices that you are comparing the same quality caskets.”
Carpenter said funeral directors welcome competition, but they do have concerns.
He said the National Funeral Directors Association has been lobbying the Federal Trade Commission to make it legal for funeral homes to charge a handling fee on caskets purchased from a casket retailer.
“Try to find another industry in which the sale of parts is not built into the overhead costs of the company. Also, once we get the casket we are responsible for whatever happens to it,” Carpenter added.
The growing trend in prepaying funerals by consumers also raises questions.
“If a family prearranges a funeral what assurance do they have for the delivering of the casket if the company goes out of business,” he added.
Lee Norrgard, a spokesman for the ARRP, said the rise of casket retailers comes during an important time in the funeral business.
“I think it is important, because it is a counter-balance to the apparent lack of competition,” he said. “(Furthermore) there is a growth in funeral parlor chains and the evidence I have seen shows that the chains are more expensive than the independent funeral home.”
He added, “Consumers should have as many options as possible these days.”
Norrgard said recent statistic show that consumers have become more savvy when paying for a funeral. An AARP survey in 1988 found that 11 percent of consumers stopped at more than one funeral home to get an estimate on a funeral. In 1998, the number was up to 18 percent.
He also referred to a recent survey conducted by the National Funeral Directors Association that found casket prices have leveled off.
Norrgard said it is impossible to know whether that has to do with the competition from casket retailers.
“Like in any industry, the more competition you have – whether it’s casket retailers or cemeteries selling caskets – the better the consumer will be,” he added.
