Shipping to Europe and sending back the sample

[FrenchMelissa]

Hello everyone !

First of all, Happy new year to all of you who might read me.

I've just ordered a kit and I have some questions for the Europeans who already got tested.
My first question is, did you pay any extra charges when the kit entered the European Union ?
The second is, what did you declare at customs when you sent it back ?

I've never send or received anything from outside the EU so I don't really know how it works.

Thank you !

Melissa

[betadams]

Hi Melissa

I am in UK{still in EU!!}

No additional charges on receipt of kit - when I returned kit I paid extra for "Tracking" to see where it was.

I put "genealogical material" on the green form but I think it might depend on what your postal service accepts,someone else may have another suggestion !

bet

[senett]

I received the kit in the mail quite soon after I ordered it. It went through customs without a problem (and at least in my country when parcels get held up at customs they send you a letter with an invoice for the fee, so it delays things, but is relatively easy to sort out).

It took a while for FTDNA to receive the kit, but I think part of those delays are the US mail and the FTDNA sorting facility in Houston.
I told the lady in the post office to send it as a parcel and with express shipping, but I realised afterwards that the price I paid was very cheap, so I may have accidentally sent it by normal mail.

Even so, FTDNA acknowledged receipt of the sample exactly a month after I ordered the kit, so everything really went quite smoothly!

I googled a bit regarding what to declare it as and general advice was to write something like 'genealogical material' on the envelope.

[euro71]

Hello Melissa,

I didn't have to pay anything extra to receive the kit, it even fitted into my very small mailbox, so I didn't need to pick it up at the post office.

According to the letter I received with the kit I had to send the kit back as a parcel, while the kit itself fits into a small envelope. The post office told me that I could send it back as a letter, because the envelope was too small to be sent as a parcel. I wanted to be sure and I sent kit as a parcel with a tracking number, which cost me a fortune, about EUR 26. I doubt if this was necessary. If you want to be sure, ask the post office.

It took about a month before my kit was received and 3 more weeks before I received the results of the Family Finder test.

[euro71]

I can't find much information about shipping FTDNA kits internationally. Perhaps it differs from country to country: https://www.familytreedna.com/learn/...l-destinations

Because I wasn't sure how to send my kit back and what to fill out on the form, I let the post office handle it. I hope that FTDNA will update their FAQ and give more specific instructions.

[FrenchMelissa]

Thanks

Thanks everyone for answering me very quickly. I can't wait to receive my kit (probably in 3 to 4 weeks).

[FrenchMelissa]

Hello Melissa,

I didn't have to pay anything extra to receive the kit, it even fitted into my very small mailbox, so I didn't need to pick it up at the post office.

According to the letter I received with the kit I had to send the kit back as a parcel, while the kit itself fits into a small envelope. The post office told me that I could send it back as a letter, because the envelope was too small to be sent as a parcel. I wanted to be sure and I sent kit as a parcel with a tracking number, which cost me a fortune, about EUR 26. I doubt if this was necessary. If you want to be sure, ask the post office.

It took about a month before my kit was received and 3 more weeks before I received the results of the Family Finder test.

Hello euro71,

I was wondering if I had to send it as a parcel too because as you said it's very expensive ... it's probably safer if the sample get lost, but it's so small, and 26€ is a lot ! Well, I'll ask the post office.
Thanks fo sharing your experience.

[euro71]

For me it took about 10 days between ordering the kit and receiving it, so you don't need to wait a long time. It takes much longer before the kit is back in Houston, batched and analyzed, this takes in total about 6 to 8 weeks. You will receive an email from FTDNA when your kit arrived at the laboratory and when the kit is analyzed and your results are in, you receive another email.

To send the kit back as a parcel I had to put it in a larger box and send it for too much money

I wonder how others in Europe did this. If they sent it back in the envelope from FTDNA and only paid for a tracking number, that won't cost more than €8. I hope someone else can answer this question for you.

[MaQ]

I sent mine back 3 December from Sweden. I told the lady at the postoffice that it should be sent as a parcel but she just looked at me and said it was way too small.
So I sent it as a letter.
Now, more than a month later, it still hasn't arrived..
So much money gone.

[lgmayka]

So much money gone.

Do you mean your postage cost?

I hope you realize that if a kit gets lost in the mail, in either direction, FTDNA will generally send out another at no additional charge.

However, I myself would not yet give up hope on your December 3 mailing. Our American post office is notoriously slow in December due to Christmas packages, and FTDNA itself is probably on half-vacation for much of the period. (In America, it is a common custom for employees to "save up" some of their vacation time for December.)

[euro71]

MaQ,

It took quite long for my kit to arrive in Houston, also take the holidays into consideration. You can always contact FTDNA and ask them about it. You don't need to pay for a new kit when this one is lost.

Look under support and click "Open a request": https://www.familytreedna.com/contact.aspx

[FrenchMelissa]

Finally !

My sample finally arrived at the Lab.
It took a week to receive the kit and a week also when I returned it back. I sent it as a parcel for 25 euros ! That's a LOT but I wanted to be sure that my sample would arrive safe and sound and on time.
Now I just have to wait for the results, I hope it won't take too long

Thanks to everyone for your answers.

[FrenchMelissa]

I sent mine back 3 December from Sweden. I told the lady at the postoffice that it should be sent as a parcel but she just looked at me and said it was way too small.
So I sent it as a letter.
Now, more than a month later, it still hasn't arrived..
So much money gone.

Do you have any news about your sample ?

[Tomhousi]

My sample finally arrived at the Lab.
It took a week to receive the kit and a week also when I returned it back. I sent it as a parcel for 25 euros ! That's a LOT but I wanted to be sure that my sample would arrive safe and sound and on time.
Now I just have to wait for the results, I hope it won't take too long

Thanks to everyone for your answers.

Il fallait l'envoyer comme une lettre. J'ai payé environ 5 euros et c'est très bien arrivé. En plus si ton kit se perd, FTDNA t'en renvoie un de toute façon.
T'as toujours la possibilité de l'envoyer en lettre suivie ou recommandé si vraiment tu as peur.

It had to be sent as a letter. I paid about 5 euros and it was very good. In addition if your kit gets lost, FTDNA will send you one anyway.
You always have the possibility to send it in letter followed or recommended if you really are afraid.

[FrenchMelissa]

Il fallait l'envoyer comme une lettre. J'ai payé environ 5 euros et c'est très bien arrivé. En plus si ton kit se perd, FTDNA t'en renvoie un de toute façon.
T'as toujours la possibilité de l'envoyer en lettre suivie ou recommandé si vraiment tu as peur.

J'ai hésité mais j'ai fini par choisir le colis par précaution, j'ai jamais de chance avec la poste ... et puis c'est plus rapide aussi. Pour avoir les résultats ça a pris combien de temps pour toi ? Plus 4 semaines ou 6 ?

I hesitated but I ended up choosing the parcel as a precaution, I never luck with the post ... and then it's faster too. To get the results it took how long for you? More 4 weeks or 6?