Batch 413

[Daveb]

Here are the dates I was sent for Batch 412 and 413


Y-DNA12(Y-DNA1-12 Markers) 06/24/2011 412
Y-Refine12to37(Y-DNA13-25 Markers) 07/06/2011 413
Y-Refine12to37(Y-DNA26-37 Markers) 07/06/2011 413
* The above expected date is a target used by the lab. Actual date may vary by a few days

[siroli]

I am in this batch (413), Y-67 and MtDNA. My first venture into DNA testing Very, very exciting!!

[deniseneufeld]

I am batch 413 and my expected date shows 7/4/11, hopefully it will come back 3 weeks early like some other batches!!!

[deniseneufeld]

Got my test results this morning, 3 weeks early!!!!

[siroli]

Mine arrived this morning too. 12- and 25-marker yDNA. Already received an email from a match with same surname!!

[deniseneufeld]

Yeah, isn't it exciting!!! I have been talking with one of my matches as well and the history that she is sharing with me about our family is amazing!!!

Mine arrived this morning too. 12- and 25-marker yDNA. Already received an email from a match with same surname!!

[Daveb]

Mine arrived this morning too. 12- and 25-marker yDNA. Already received an email from a match with same surname!!

Don't know what's going on here, still not got a word back,are you guys in batch 413? Fed up waiting, Going to Ancestry for tests from now on.

[ekc123]

Don't know what's going on here, still not got a word back,are you guys in batch 413? Fed up waiting, Going to Ancestry for tests from now on.

I'm in batch 415 and haven't received results yet, which are due 7/20. When did you order your tests and when are they supposed to be due? Just curious. They say the 25 marker upgrade (which I ordered) takes from 4 to 6 weeks, but my due date is 8 weeks from the time I ordered it back in May. I had an snp test that took close to 5 months a few years ago, although they had to redo it several times to get a good sample. I should add that I really don't mind waiting, but I wish they had a better system for tracking the progress of the orders.

[efgen]

Don't know what's going on here, still not got a word back,are you guys in batch 413? Fed up waiting, Going to Ancestry for tests from now on.

Your estimated target date isn't until 6/24, and it's only 6/21. Keep in mind that DNA testing is not an off-the-shelf product -- there are complicated chemical reactions that need to be done for each test, and sometimes those reactions don't work as well as they should.

People whose tests come back with clear results the first time get their results quickly. But if a set of results are not clear, or something doesn't look right, then the lab's Quality Control people send that kit back for re-testing, which delays the result by a few weeks.

FTDNA's estimated target dates take potential re-tests into consideration. So most people will end up with on-time results, some will end up with early results, and there are even some whose results will be late if they have to be re-tested a second time.

So hang in there, be patient, and definitely don't go to Ancestry!!! Family Tree DNA may take a little longer for results at times, but their product offerings are well above and beyond what Ancestry has to offer. In fact, many people switch from Ancestry *to* Family Tree DNA

Elise

[ekc123]

Your estimated target date isn't until 6/24, and it's only 6/21. Keep in mind that DNA testing is not an off-the-shelf product -- there are complicated chemical reactions that need to be done for each test, and sometimes those reactions don't work as well as they should.

People whose tests come back with clear results the first time get their results quickly. But if a set of results are not clear, or something doesn't look right, then the lab's Quality Control people send that kit back for re-testing, which delays the result by a few weeks.

FTDNA's estimated target dates take potential re-tests into consideration. So most people will end up with on-time results, some will end up with early results, and there are even some whose results will be late if they have to be re-tested a second time.

So hang in there, be patient, and definitely don't go to Ancestry!!! Family Tree DNA may take a little longer for results at times, but their product offerings are well above and beyond what Ancestry has to offer. In fact, many people switch from Ancestry *to* Family Tree DNA

Elise

I agree with most of what you say here and I'd probably stay with FTDNA whether it took 6 weeks or 6 months to get the results, because I like the fact that they have a huge database and they offer pretty good deals on upgrades and so forth. But, it would be very helpful if they had a better tracking/notification system for orders. When my SNP test (which I ordered in 2008) missed the first "expected" date on the pending labs page, they simply changed the expected date, and then subsequently changed it again. I had to contact them by phone to figure out that the problem had to do with the sample not being usuable and the lab having to repeat the test a number of times to get a good sample. It would be great if they could incorporate an update system into your FTDNA homepage on these issues just so you know what's going on with your order.

[Daveb]

Your estimated target date isn't until 6/24, and it's only 6/21. Keep in mind that DNA testing is not an off-the-shelf product -- there are complicated chemical reactions that need to be done for each test, and sometimes those reactions don't work as well as they should.

People whose tests come back with clear results the first time get their results quickly. But if a set of results are not clear, or something doesn't look right, then the lab's Quality Control people send that kit back for re-testing, which delays the result by a few weeks.

FTDNA's estimated target dates take potential re-tests into consideration. So most people will end up with on-time results, some will end up with early results, and there are even some whose results will be late if they have to be re-tested a second time.

So hang in there, be patient, and definitely don't go to Ancestry!!! Family Tree DNA may take a little longer for results at times, but their product offerings are well above and beyond what Ancestry has to offer. In fact, many people switch from Ancestry *to* Family Tree DNA

Elise

Seems to me that for some obscure reason you are protesting too loudly about Ancestry, I am just a normal customer whose cousin sent a sample to Ancestry at the same as I sent mine to FTDNA. Eleven days later my cousin had results back, I am still waiting and when I check with FTDNA I find other persons with the same batch number 413 have already had their results but I have heard nothing.
This does not seem like the way to keep customers happy, I like to be" kept in the loop", if there is a problem with the sample then common courtesy would be served by notifying me. Many people, you say, move from Ancestry to FTDNA, I have checked through the messages on these boards and found that this is entirely correct, however almost all agree that the markers were exactly the same. This would suggest that the DNA testing can indeed be done in a much shorter time, does this mean the labs at FTDNA are not large enough for the amount of samples they process. I am today requesting tests from Ancestry to cross check the results from FTDNA, we shall see.

[efgen]

Seems to me that for some obscure reason you are protesting too loudly about Ancestry

There's no obscure reason. Accuracy of the result isn't the issue (except for the haplogroup assignment, which I'll discuss in a minute). Family Tree DNA's product offerings are simply far above and beyond what Ancestry offers. Ancestry offers two levels of Y-DNA tests, one or two levels of mtDNA tests, and nothing more. Family Tree DNA offers 5 standard levels of Y-DNA tests, 3 levels of mtDNA tests, autosomal testing (Family Finder), plus an extremely wide array of add-on SNP and STR tests.

Also, FTDNA guarantees that they will provide you with a definitive backbone haplogroup assignment through their SNP Assurance Program -- if they cannot confidently predict a customer's backbone haplogroup, they will do the necessary SNP test to determine it for free. Ancestry, on the other hand, does no SNP testing at all, and I've heard too many stories about their backbone haplogroup predictions being wrong. If you're in one of the common European haplogroups, like R1b1b2, they'll probably get it right. But if you're in one of the less common haplogroups, or if you happen to have any strange marker values, it can throw off their predictor and they'll simply assign whatever seems to be the closest match and not bother to confirm it.

If you want to test with a second company to cross-check your results, by all means. I just don't recommend that anyone test with Ancestry as the primary or only DNA company they test with. This opinion comes from my 5+ years doing genetic genealogy as a customer, project administrator and more. I've lost count of how many times I've answered posts on various forums and in private email from confused and unhappy people who tested with Ancestry and wished they had tested with FTDNA instead.

I'm not saying that FTDNA is without faults... no company is completely perfect... but overall, FTDNA ranks far above any of the other DNA companies, in my opinion.

Elise

[ekc123]

I'm not saying that FTDNA is without faults... no company is completely perfect... but overall, FTDNA ranks far above any of the other DNA companies, in my opinion.

Elise

Agreed. The DNA research is helping me track my father's family, about which I knew very little beyond my immediate family. It offers a quality product. But, FTDNA could make it much more user-friendly by expanding the faqs and posting more information about one's order status on the myFTDNA homepage. For example, I ordered the yDNA 25 marker upgrade and then decided to order the 37 marker panel when they offered the sale. The yDNA 25 panel was batched immediately, but the other one has not been batched. I kept thinking that something was wrong with the order and only realized that they batch on Wednesdays after calling customer service. It would have been helpful if this information and more detailed explanations of the process itself, especially as it pertains to potential delays and so forth, were posted on the website in a central place. I couldn't find this information or even average test times on the faq section outside of one statement about the average overall test time being six weeks.

[Daveb]

Partial results

Well we are making slow progress, now got 25 marker results out of 37. No matches at 25 so if they take longer with the 37 I guess it won't matter too much. All in all a dissapointing experience.

[Daveb]

Shambolic

Well what can I say, still waiting on results from Batch 413, yes I know the due date is July 6th. but others in this batch had results weeks ago but despite numerous comments on this board by many different customers FTDNA still seem unable to keep people informed. Do they not understand that when one sees results from a batch they are waiting on being discussed by others, who have their results, concerns are aroused that they have somehow lost the result or the sample has not come up to scratch. Please FTDNA, if it is a case of retest or some other delay, keep your customers informed and do not continue with this slapdash method of handing out a result here and there with no word at all to those still waiting. Your DNA quality may be without equal but your customer service via the web is a joke.
D J Butler
Bristol UK