Buying a DNA Kit on Ancestry as a gift

[Ruskie]

Essnell, can you please let me know the length of time from posting your test, to them receiving it?

I know that post Christmas must be their busiest time, but it’s been a while since I posted my test and their system doesn’t say my test has arrived yet, so am interested to know the progress of your test/s.

I’m not concerned about how long the process will take, but concerned it may have been lost in transit.

[phil57]

Ruskie, Ancestry say about 6-8 weeks, but it can be longer. One of mine, sent just before Christmas a couple of years ago, took around 11 weeks to show as received, but things then seemed to move more quickly than the estimates for processing times.

Kits posted in the UK go to a collection centre in Ireland, where they can sit a while until they have enough to send in a batch to the lab in the US. They are only marked as received once they arrive at the lab and have been scanned in I believe.

There is a DNA Processing Times message board on the Ancestry website. When I sent  mine, there were regular threads running where submitters were updating with dates sent, received, processing and completed. Just had a quick look and there don't seem to have been any similar threads recently, but you could ask on there if anyone else has had a receipt for a kit submitted around the same time as yours.

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/boards/topics.dnaresearch.dnaprocessingtimes

Once those threads start, people will often contribute. It's just a matter of getting the ball rolling.

Just a thought, but I wonder if the stoppage on sending foreign mail following the Royal Mail cyber attack would have affected delivery to Ireland? Depends when you posted it of course. I think that started early to mid January and has only recently started moving again.

[Ruskie]

Many thanks Phil. Your reply has addressed my concerns. It’s only been a few weeks since I posted my test, so I don’t need to worry just yet.

Thanks for the suggestion about the message board but I was just looking for a rough idea about timings, which you have given me. 

[Biggles50]

Just think about physically how many DNA kits are likely to be bought as presents for either Thanksgiving or Christmas then expect Ancestry to be swamped with kits to process.

[Ruskie]

Just think about physically how many DNA kits are likely to be bought as presents for either Thanksgiving or Christmas then expect Ancestry to be swamped with kits to process.

Very true. As I mentioned, this will be their busiest time. A long wait for the processing doesn’t bother me - once the test arrives safely I am happy to wait as long as it takes. 

[Biggles50]

Something to consider if any family members have concerns about family DNA being posted online can be handled in a number of ways.

Make the tree to which the DNA is linked Private, it can also be set so that it is not found in searches.

By use of a User Name that bears no relationship to any known person, as a managed test it will only show as Initials anyway.

[Ruskie]

Thanks for the tips Biggles. I’ve managed to set up all of those privacy settings I think/hope, and have been intentionally vague with some recent events.

I may still make further amendments to reduce details before allowing anyone to view my tree.

[Biggles50]

Anyone still set as Living will only show as Private even if you give Guest access to someone.

You have to click a Check Box for a Guest to be able to view living persons.

As a Guest they cannot make changes, only view.

BTW, I also set a calendar reminder on my iPad to remove access to Guests after they have had a six months to look and our tree.

[Ruskie]

Thanks for the tips Biggles. I like the idea of removing guest access after a specific time.