Pricing your GPL against the market before you sell

Most owners know their prices are “about right” for the area. Few can show it. Before a sale, that gap matters, because a buyer will compare your price list with the competition, project what happens if it changes, and test whether your list follows federal rules. This guide covers the survey, the Rule’s constraints, package design, and how a pricing change flows into value.

Why is the national median a weak benchmark?

Because your families compare you with nearby firms, not with a national number. Use national data for context and local price lists for decisions.

The latest NFDA price study we can verify is the 2023 General Price List Study, which Funeral Director Daily reported put the national median adult funeral with viewing and burial at $8,300 and a funeral with viewing and cremation at $6,280. NFDA noted that those medians rose more slowly than general inflation over the prior two years. Your market may sit well above or below them, and it may include a direct-cremation provider pricing far below either figure.

How do you survey competitor GPL prices?

Collect current price lists from the five to eight firms your families actually consider, normalize them to the same line items, and record where you sit on each. Repeat the exercise every year so the trend is visible.

1. Define the competitive set. Include traditional firms, combination operations, and direct-cremation providers drawing calls from your area. Ask arrangers which names families mention.
2. Collect lists as a consumer would. The Rule requires a printed General Price List for anyone who asks in person, and accurate answers by phone. Some firms post prices online; an FTC review in 2022 found fewer than 40% of websites it checked did.
3. Record the effective date of every list so you compare the same period.
4. Normalize line items. Match what each price includes. One firm’s viewing may include staff and a second day; another’s may not.
5. Build three comparison baskets per firm: direct cremation with an alternative container, cremation with a memorial service, and a traditional burial with viewing, using the same goods in each.
6. Place yourself in each basket and each line, then decide deliberately where you want to sit.

A table like this shows patterns that totals hide. Many family firms underprice the basic services fee and overprice merchandise, which leaves them exposed as families choose simpler services.

Where should you sit in the range?

Price each line on purpose, not by habit. A firm with a strong reputation, newer facilities, and staff families ask for by name can usually hold prices above the median on services. A firm competing mainly on convenience may need to sit near the middle. Sitting at the bottom of every line is rarely a strategy; it usually means the list has not been reviewed in years. Write down the position you chose for each line and why, because a buyer will ask whether your prices have room to rise or are already stretched.

What does the FTC Funeral Rule require on a GPL?

The GPL must itemize the specified goods and services you offer, carry an effective date and required disclosures, and limit non-declinable fees to the basic services fee. Those rules shape every pricing decision.

Under 16 CFR Part 453, the list must include prices, if offered, for items such as forwarding and receiving remains, direct cremation, immediate burial, transfer of remains, embalming, other preparation, viewing, funeral ceremony, memorial service, graveside service, hearse, and limousine, plus casket and outer burial container prices or ranges.

Two more rules affect pricing. If you mark up a cash advance item or keep a rebate on it, §453.3(f) requires a disclosure on the Statement. And the FTC’s guide on complying with the Funeral Rule says you should not inflate list prices in order to give most customers a discount; if nearly everyone gets the discount, the discounted price is the accurate price.

How should you design packages under the Rule?

Build each package from your itemized prices, offer it alongside the itemized list, and describe every component on the Statement. The FTC’s guide is explicit that packages must be offered “in addition to and not in place of” itemized prices.

Packages help families decide and keep arrangements consistent. Design them around how your families actually choose: a direct cremation option, a cremation with a gathering, and a traditional service. The package price should be no higher than the sum of its parts, and any savings should be real.

Practice matters as much as design. In its 2024 undercover phone sweep report, FTC staff found that at least 33% of 278 providers offered package pricing without itemized prices, and at least 37 quoted different prices for the same services on different calls. Buyers ask how your staff answer the phone. A short written phone-price script that starts from the GPL protects you on both fronts.

How does a price change flow into revenue per call and value?

Through mix. A new price list changes revenue per call differently for each disposition, so model the change by service type, then by the share of calls in each.

This is why buyers look at average revenue per call by disposition mix, the second number in The Four-Number Funeral Home Valuation Screen, rather than a single blended figure. If a low-cost competitor is already pulling calls, our guide to selling when a direct-cremation competitor is taking calls covers the pricing response.

When should you change prices before a sale?

At least 12 months before going to market, so a full year of results at the new prices appears in the records. A large increase in the final months looks like an attempt to flatter the numbers, and the buyer will not credit it.

Two side effects deserve attention. First, a higher price list raises the cost to deliver every guaranteed preneed contract, which is rung four, re-price obligations, in The Preneed Reconciliation Ladder. Run the funding gap before and after the change. Second, keep every version of your list. The Rule requires retaining price lists for at least a year after their last use; for a sale, keep them all so a buyer can line up each change with monthly call reports.

What do buyers check on your GPL during diligence?

They confirm the list is compliant, that Statements match it, and that the prices you charge are the prices you publish. Prepare the evidence in advance.

Definitions of the General Price List, the FTC Funeral Rule, and the Statement of Funeral Goods and Services Selected explain each document. Other value levers are covered in the operations hub.