Coffin now a click away

You can buy casket online

Struggling to find the desired coffin for your loved one? Well, now it’s just a click away.

You can now buy a coffin on sale from R4,899 from SA’s largest online retailer Takealot. The original price for the coffin is R5,500. While delivery is free, the item is “nonrefundable”.

“The wood veneer is laminated on to chipboard. Machine-cut and hand-polished with a variety of wood effects. Opens at the top or bottom”, is the description for the coffin on the site.

There is only one style of the item available, and Takealot said the item was listed by one of their thirdparty sellers.

The retailer said the online sale of coffins and caskets is not new and can be seen on large international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

“The sale of this item will be processed as per any other item listed on our platform, and will be subject to our standard terms and conditions.”

Takealot is not the only seller of coffins. On popular classifieds platform Gumtree, there are 65 coffins for sale. Prices range from R2,000 to R10,000.

Gumtree’s brand marketing manager Estelle Nagel said selling coffins online was not uncommon.

“We once had an entrepreneur who sold cupboards that could be converted into coffins as a way to save money.

“I think we look at coffins as being a morbid item, but we will all need one eventually, and if you can obtain one on Gumtree, why not?”