Dear Abbey,
Is it wrong to buy sympathy cards in bulk?

I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of Costco. Some people hate it (they're called non-members). Most people secretly love it. I openly love it. Call me a boorish fool, drunk on consumerism and discounted Ketel One. I don't care, I still love Costco.

Lately, Costco seems to have taken a turn toward the darker side. This started when they began carrying caskets at deep discount prices. Don't get me wrong, caskets are a real racket and someone like a Costco needed to get in there and do some major cost cutting and stick it to the undertaker. It just seems a bit morbid. Fortunately, I haven't had the need to buy a discounted casket yet.

However, I have taken to buying my greeting cards in bulk. Costco carries a nice assortment of fancy cards for some rediculously low price and I just can't resist. You know, the kind of cards with those little cutsey cutouts and sprinkles and crap that the local card sotre sells for about five bucks apiece? I hate shopping for greeting cards, so getting one big-assed box of them all at once makes me happy.

The interesting part is that the box also contains Sympathy cards. Three, to be precise. Whether or not that's enough depends on your own personal situation. But it leaves me wondering; is it in bad taste to give someone a bulk sympathy card? Maybe it's just me, but it seems like that's one circumstance that might merit a trip to the card store. Plus, you know how it goes with the Costco cards, someone else is bound to have bought the very same pack you did and then the person receives two or more identical sympathy cards. Not very sympathetic, is it?