FTDNA Sales

[Stevo]

Summer Sale: https://mailchi.mp/familytreedna/sum...t?e=4824c7d29c Ends August 31, 2023.

With the recent announcement that Family Finder will now include Y-DNA haplogroups for males, they should sell a boatload of Family Finder tests at that sale price, which would be a great bargain even if no Y-DNA haplogroup was included.

I'm still hoping the guys in my R1b-BY168 Project who never upgraded from the Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700 will take advantage of this sale and do so. To dream the impossible dream . . .

[Jim Barrett]

Summer Sale: https://mailchi.mp/familytreedna/sum...t?e=4824c7d29c Ends August 31, 2023.

[Stevo]

Now FTDNA's Father's Day sale is on through 11:59 pm, 18 June 2023. I'm back working at getting my project members who haven't done so to upgrade from the Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700.

[Stevo]

What prompted some decent theories about "son lines" from two patrilineal branches in the 18th century were my upgrade from 500 to 700 and upgrading my wife's uncle to the same. The resulting downstream SNPs encouraged a few others to do the same, because we started getting what might be specific SNPs down from specific brothers to today's cousins on each line. (My wife's ancestors have virtually the same surname but different branches separating yonks ago) Some of the Y500s were "stuck" at an upstream SNP until expanded to Y700, when new Y700s were compared with them.

Thanks for pointing out the practical benefits of upgrading from the Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700. FTDNA's Father's Day sale is coming up soon. Hopefully many of the guys who have never upgraded from the 500 to the 700 will do so during the Father's Day sale.

[clintonslayton76]

What prompted some decent theories about "son lines" from two patrilineal branches in the 18th century were my upgrade from 500 to 700 and upgrading my wife's uncle to the same. The resulting downstream SNPs encouraged a few others to do the same, because we started getting what might be specific SNPs down from specific brothers to today's cousins on each line. (My wife's ancestors have virtually the same surname but different branches separating yonks ago) Some of the Y500s were "stuck" at an upstream SNP until expanded to Y700, when new Y700s were compared with them.

[Stevo]

. . .

Stevo, testng your 2nd cousin might nor reveal much, although I dont know how many Private Variants you are dealing with and if you have recent Y mysteries to unravel. My 5th cousin and I are off by only one SNP (my private variant), but YMMV.

That's true, but he's not interested in upgrading, so I may never know. I have a couple of Big Y-700-tested 5th cousins, as well. They are just one SNP upstream of my second cousin and me.

[mabrams]

I agree with Stevo that a BigY500 is limiting. About half of the important sublevels between myself and my closest collateral branches involve the FT series. My terminal SNP is an FT SNP.

I also think an issue with BigY500, albeit minor, is that you are assigned BigY matches that would not hold up under the deeper scrutiny of a BigY700. If you upgrade to 700, many of the shakier BigY500 matches will fall off your list.

Some people will regret the loss of matches, but I prefer a smaller list of more reliable matches.

~~~

Stevo, testng your 2nd cousin might nor reveal much, although I dont know how many Private Variants you are dealing with and if you have recent Y mysteries to unravel. My 5th cousin and I are off by only one SNP (my private variant), but YMMV.

[Stevo]

I agree, and my Big Y 500 terminal SNP keeps getting updated without me paying Big Bucks.

You don't have access to the FT series or the other SNPs not included in the Big Y-500, but if you're satisfied with that, fine. My current terminal SNP is the product of the Big Y-500. I have the Big Y-700, but my second cousin, who shares my current terminal SNP, has only gone as far as the Big Y-500. We might get farther downstream if he would upgrade, since then FTDNA could compare the two of us on all the SNPs in the Big Y-700 that my second cousin doesn't currently have. I'm pretty happy with what I have, but I would like to know more. My second cousin hasn't shown any interest in upgrading, so I will have to wait for another Y-DNA relative about that close to order the Big Y-700.

[Jim Barrett]

I don't understand how the extra 200 STR's help. Seems like a lot of money for that upgrade.

I agree, and my Big Y 500 terminal SNP keeps getting updated without me paying Big Bucks.

[Stevo]

I don't understand how the extra 200 STR's help. Seems like a lot of money for that upgrade.

The STRs aren't the important part. It's all the extra SNPs, including the FT series. A guy with the old Big Y-500 might share an as-yet-undiscovered SNP with another man who has had the Big Y-700, but he can't know that until he has Big Y-700 results that can be compared against the Big Y-700 results of others.

[georgian1950]

Right now an upgrade from the old Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700 costs $189 (sale price). I'm trying to encourage my project members who did the Big Y-500 but never upgraded to the Big Y-700 to upgrade. There are a number of them who have been stuck at the same terminal SNP for a while. I suspect an upgrade might break some of them loose and reveal some hitherto undiscovered SNPs downstream of where they are now. I hope they'll do it, but $189 is still a fair amount of money. There's been no movement on the upgrade so far, despite the sale.

I don't understand how the extra 200 STR's help. Seems like a lot of money for that upgrade.

[Stevo]

Right now an upgrade from the old Big Y-500 to the Big Y-700 costs $189 (sale price). I'm trying to encourage my project members who did the Big Y-500 but never upgraded to the Big Y-700 to upgrade. There are a number of them who have been stuck at the same terminal SNP for a while. I suspect an upgrade might break some of them loose and reveal some hitherto undiscovered SNPs downstream of where they are now. I hope they'll do it, but $189 is still a fair amount of money. There's been no movement on the upgrade so far, despite the sale.

[mabrams]

loobster

My recollection

Best Price for BigY has been $379. Best Price for FF has been $39. That would be $418. FTDNA often gives a $9 discount on a second test. So that would be $409.

If all that is correct, then the $409 now matches the best price.

But I think $49 is the normal sale price for FF, so $39 would an exceptional sale. The Bundle Packages are good prices.

[loobster]

Is that bundle price for Family Finder and BigY700 better than it has ever been to get the two?

[Jim Barrett]

With the price of most things going up it is good to see FTDNA' s regular prices are staying about the same and that they do a sale on a regular basis. Compare what has happened to the price of Big Y from the time it was introduced and now to the price of a dozen eggs over the same time period.