For those of you who have tested with Family Tree DNA (FTDNA), you will have received a notification about the Y-DNA upgrade sale. This sale is for those who have already had a test run, either 12, 25, or 37 marker level. If you tested out to the full 67 marker level, you did not receive this notification. This sale is from May 14th through Saturday, May 23rd (11:59pm CDT). On average, the reduced prices are about 25% lower than the standard upgrade price (depending on your marker level and how many more makers you want).
To find out the prices, you will need to log into your FTDNA page with your kit number and password. This info was provided to you in the email sent out by FTDNA announcing the sale. DO NOT FORWARD THE EMAIL FROM FAMILY TREE DNA TO OTHERS!!!! It contains your password! After logging into your page, look in the left column for the heading "My Account." Under that you will see "Order Tests & Upgrades." Click that. The next window that opens is "Order Additional DNA Tests." You want the top one, "Standard Orders." (Click the orange "Go to Standard Orders" button). A new window opens. >From the drop down menu you will see the upgrade options available to you. Katherine Borges (the other Azores DNA admin) and I disagree on the following theory about the Azores DNA project. I still feel that the first 12 markers are anthropological in nature. They give you your haplogroup (where you fit on the tree of mankind) and the fact that you are related to someone 70,000 years ago (think Fred Flintstone). There are many that match on the first 12 markers and the match falls apart when the testees go out to 25 or more markers. There are two 25 exact marker matches. One pair of testees went out to 37 and the match fell apart. One participant of the other pair of testees has not gone up to 37 markers, so I do not know if that match will hold up. This level of markers gets you within a thousand years ago (depending on the mismatches). We have one pair of testees that do match on 37 markers. I do not know if they were able to establish a paper trail connection. This level of testing usually brings you to a genealogy relevant time frame, where you can establish a paper trail with another person. I feel eventually, over time, as we get more and more matches, that people will need to test out to at least the 37 marker level. We have 165 testees and about 20 or so matches (not all are within a genealogy time frame, however; many are anthropological). If you want to know whether or not to upgrade, I think that if you have the funds available, go ahead and do it while there's a sale. Someday, you will have a match and you will need to upgrade and you'll pay the regular price. I think it's just a matter of time until the database for the Azores DNA project is large enough to start having many matches. I'm sure that there were hundreds of families that settled in the Azores since their founding and we have only 160 or so families represented right now in the project. NEW ORDERS: What about people who have never tested and are thinking about it? I know last year, they ran a "Sizzling Summer Sale." Also, for the past 4 or 5 years, they have run a sale in December. The only other sale for new orders was last year at the Southern CA Genealogy Jamboree in Burbank, California. If you bought a kit there, you got a sale price (something like a 37 marker which is $149 group price (you order through the Azores Group to get the discount) was $119 (I think) on sale. That's a really good price, as a 37 marker test retails for $248. This year the Jamboree is June 26-28. I will be there and if there is a sale, I will let the list know. We can work out the particulars from there. Cheri Mello Family Tree DNA Administrator Azores DNA --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership." -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
