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For GSS: The business of death.

severine

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Very interesting... though I find it equally interesting that while they claim cremation to be adding to global warming, the so-called more eco-friendly alternatives later listed include various uses of ones ashes. :blink:
 
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I'm not in the funeral business...I'm in the monument industry...Blasting granite from the ground...cutting it with huge saws..polishing the granite..shipping it on big trucks..sandblasting the granite..then delivering it to cemeteries in smaller trucks is all bad for the environment. Then I make money and spend it to fill up my car to drive to Vermont or fly out west which is also bad for the environment...I'm a horrible person..lol

FYI..the cremation rate stands around 31 percent and it's rising..it's about 50% near major metropolitan areas and in California where cemetery plots are uber expensive..in Great Britain it's 70% and in China they bury bodies vertically to save space.
 
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Recession proof industry...people don't stop dying. I think we spoke about this before on this board.

Yeah but as the cremation rate rises less vaults, caskets, and monuments are sold..right now the death rate is pretty flat..but pretty soon it will start to rise due to all the baby boomers..:???:
 

BeanoNYC

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Is the cremation rate rising that considerably? I always wanted to be cremated and no wake, but I'm feel I stand alone on that.
 
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Is the cremation rate rising that considerably? I always wanted to be cremated and no wake, but I'm feel I stand alone on that.

Yes the cremation rate is rising considerable...up until pretty recently..the Catholic church was against cremation but now they allow it. Alot of the Depression/World War two babies are traditional and want a full buriel..but the Baby Boomers have a different attitude toward death and generally don't want to leave an expensive burden to their loved ones so pre-planned funerals and cremations are hot. The average full burial funeral is about $8,000 which includes the service, coffin, and vault...The average cremation funeral is only about $2,000 and it can be even cheaper if there's no service...they simple use a rental coffin for the service. With caskets for sale at some Cosco locations and on the internet..Funeral homes can't charge as high of a mark-up on caskets and are losing lots of revenue..so they sell monuments and other tributes to make up for lost revenue. On the larger scale...Mauseleum sales are alse on the decline..
 

ski_resort_observer

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I'm not in the funeral business...I'm in the monument industry...Blasting granite from the ground...cutting it with huge saws..polishing the granite..shipping it on big trucks..sandblasting the granite..then delivering it to cemeteries in smaller trucks is all bad for the environment. Then I make money and spend it to fill up my car to drive to Vermont or fly out west which is also bad for the environment...I'm a horrible person..lol
.

You know a few people do that in Barre, Vt. Be alot cheaper on the gas thing getting to many resorts.
 
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You know a few people do that in Barre, Vt. Be alot cheaper on the gas thing getting to many resorts.

I visit suppliers of ours in Barre Vermont every year in early spring(It ties in nicely with a trip to Stowe). Unfortunately for the Barre granite quarries and manufacturers..there has been an influx of imported granite coming in from China which is high quality and inexpensive..It would be nice to be able to set up shop in Vermont or Wyoming but there just aren't enough people. There are over 15 million people within 90 miles of me which translates into about 150,000 deaths per year with over 1,000 funeral homes handling all the services. We sell through a network of funeral homes in Eastern PA and NJ...and do all the deliveries..the good thing is that winter is the slow time of the year and that's when I use most of my vacation time. Eventually my dream would be to take off December through March and live in Jackson Hole and bust ass the rest of the year...Holla..
 

ctenidae

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It still amazes me it's cheaper to ship granite from China than it is to cut it here. You'd think the shipping costs alone would be enough to even the price out, but I guess they pay so much less to workers in China. Crazy.
 
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