Cheap options get upgraded back
When customers turn to a simpler, cheaper choice like cremation, the industry finds ways to rebuild it into a full, expensive funeral. The low-cost option survives in name while extras are sold back on top of it.
Grief opens the sale
Funeral sellers treat the family's first call, made in fresh grief, as the moment the sales pitch begins. Buyers who are vulnerable, guilty and grieving don't shop around or haggle, so the pressure works best exactly when judgment is weakest.
Pricing to the customer's wallet
Sellers size up what a family can afford, down to what a warehouse worker or an office secretary earns, and pitch the price to that rather than to the cost of the service. The bill reflects the buyer's means, not what is being provided.
Ritual sold as public health
Embalming is presented as a needed safeguard, yet health authorities say it does nothing to stop the spread of disease. A costly custom keeps going by wearing the authority of a hygiene measure it doesn't actually perform.
Celebrated rules with loopholes
A widely praised government rule meant to protect funeral buyers left large gaps the industry could slip through. Loud announcements of reform can stand in for real protection while the old practices carry on.