DNA testing: 23andme

[cougrrr8]

FTDNA is having a sale that ends tomorrow 4/22/12 at midnight. I will post the info below.  Nick just one slight logistic point.  The higher concentration of one group over the other only means that more have been tested that match your group from one.   If you had a base of 2,000 that matched 700 that would be great. but if you had a base of 200,000,000 (fictitious)  and only had 3 it's just a sampling issue not a quality one.  Anyway with that said. Here's the email I got from FTDNA.  It applies to all families.

Craig

Hello All,

Nearly all Family Tree DNA tests will be on sale for two days, including upgrades. Sorry, no Y-DNA SNP items are in this one. The sale will end at 11:59PM Central USA Time on Saturday April 21st. All orders must be paid by the end of the sale. Prices are in US Dollars.

New Kits (For your Friends and Relations)

Current Group Price SALE PRICE
mtDNA $99 $59
Y-DNA12 $99 $59
Y-DNA37 $149 $129
Y-DNA67 $238 $199
Family Finder (FF) $289 $199
mtFullSequence $299 $249
Y-DNA12 + mtDNA $179 $118
FF + Y-DNA12 $339 $258
FF + mtDNA $339 $258
FF + Y-DNA37 $438 $328
FF + mtDNAPlus $438 $328
Comprehensive (Family Finder + mtFullSequence + Y-DNA67) $797 $657

Order new kits here.  http://www.familytreedna.com/group-join.aspx?&group=H&vGroup=h%20mtdna%20haplogroup

Upgrades (For Current FTDNA Kits)
Y-DNA12 $89 $59
mtDNA $89 $59
Y-DNA12-37 Marker $99 $69
Y-DNA37-67 Marker $99 $79
Y-DNA12-67 Marker $199 $148
mtFullSequence upgrade (mtHVR1toMega) $269 $199
mtFullSequence upgrade (mtHVR2toMega) $269 $199
mtFullSequence add-on $289 $219
Family Finder add-on $289 $199

To order an upgrade, go to the https://www.familytreedna.com/login.aspx page and enter your kit number and password. Then click on the orange Order an Upgrade button on the top right of your myFTDNA account.

[davidft]

Out of interest has anyone ever ordered, or think it is worth ordering, the full kit ie

Comprehensive (Family Finder + mtFullSequence + Y-DNA67) $797 $657

[cougrrr8]

What they call family finder is autosomal testing.  They want it both ways the hype that a connection in less than 5 generations.  Then the disclaimer and admission that the info can't specify where on the tree the results will appear. 

Plus the premium I think is unreasonably high.  I have bumped mine up to the 67 marker level over a couple of years but am hesitant to go further.  You stated you had hundreds of results....Over a couple of years I have had 2 exact and half a dozen other matches.  I'm hoping that the database will grow and include more of mine. 

Craig

[kwheaton]

Alan Greenspan Chairman of FTDNA stated in an interview this past year that DNA testing for genealogical purposes is helpful in this order:

Y-DNA STR testing the most helpful
Autosomal
mtDNA testing the least

It really depends on what you are looking for.

In the case described autosomal testing may not reveal the precise families but should give the test taker a better idea of whether there is Jewish background and maybe even some connections.

I run two FTDNA Projects. One is for Wheaton/Wheadon all spellings which mostly uses Y-DNA but I accept all. The other is an experimental project based on people with ancestry tracing back to a specific town in a specific timeframe: Rehoboth, MA before 1700. The first has been very successful. The Second its too soon to tell.

[Nick29]

Out of interest has anyone ever ordered, or think it is worth ordering, the full kit ie

Comprehensive (Family Finder + mtFullSequence + Y-DNA67) $797 $657

I think it would not be sensible to go that way.   If you don't get a match on the 12 marker test, it's very unlikely that there will be matches on the 37 or 67 markers.

[cougrrr8]

The number of markers is all dependent on your objective.  If you just want the basic deep ancestry of the family the 12 marker is good.  That is what I started with but eventually decided to upgrade to 67. 

It's not always about what you get.  Since many are needed to build the database so results can be obtained.  I don't know if I'll upgrade further but am satisfied with what I've done.

Craig 

[davidft]

Out of interest has anyone ever ordered, or think it is worth ordering, the full kit ie

Comprehensive (Family Finder + mtFullSequence + Y-DNA67) $797 $657

I think it would not be sensible to go that way.   If you don't get a match on the 12 marker test, it's very unlikely that there will be matches on the 37 or 67 markers.

Thanks for that.

After reading more about the tests on their sites and elsewhere I have gone for the Y DNA37 test, which was the one I was first drawn to several months ago.

Now I'll just sit back and await the test and see if it confirms what I think I know, or whether I have a surprise in store 

[davidft]

It's not always about what you get.  Since many are needed to build the database so results can be obtained.  I don't know if I'll upgrade further but am satisfied with what I've done.

Yes that is the conclusion I came too when reading up on it and so have decided against the mtDNA and family finder tests, at least for the time being

[Nick29]

I went for the 37 marker test on FTDNA, and the best I've done on that in the last 4 months is a 25-marker match - and 25 markers is a pretty huge sample 

I also did an autosomal test, which has thrown up quite a few oddities, with nothing really worth chasing.  I'm not convinced that autosomal DNA is very effective.

I didn't do the mtDNA test, because my mother's side of the family tree is quite well researched