These days, you can buy just about anything online. Downtown Boston’s online home goods megamart, CSN, sells everything from pots and pans to pet supplies and patio chairs. But who would have thought you’d be able to find a coffin — or to use the proper term, casket — for purchase? Just one click of the mouse and you’ve got yourself a satin-lined final resting place.
Caskets and urns, which went online only a few months ago, are just two new products that CSN’s expansion into the home medical supply arena has brought in.
“That’s definitely a fast-growing market,” says CSN’s VP of Communications, Chuck Casto, with only the slightest hint of a joke. “We look at new categories when we decide to expand and ask, where is the need? We thought we could do a great job with caskets and urns and offer convenience at what is a difficult time for people.”
CSN also offers discounts on its 200-plus selection of caskets and urns.
“We offer around 70 percent less than most funeral homes,”?Casto boasts. “But, also, it’s a way to do something efficiently and effectively.”
They work closely with two established companies, Universal Casket Company and Star Legacy Funeral Network, and go beyond the up-sell.
“They help us counsel people who are often distressed,” says Casto.
Caskets can be a bulky item to ship, but it’s delivered straight to the funeral home, which is probably a relief for the UPS guy.
“Its immediacy is another great thing about purchasing online, “ says Casto.
