FGS

New communication from Family Tree DNA, FYI:

"Dear Family Tree DNA Group Administrator

We would like for you to know first hand the announcement about a big promotion for the Full Mitochondria Sequence that we will be sending in the next days to Family Tree DNA customers in your project.    Due to the fact that we will be reaching out directly to your members, we suggest that you DON’T send them a bulk email about it so that they don’t feel overloaded.    As always, we appreciate your support...

Bennett Greenspan

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We are pleased to make a very special announcement about our Full Mitochondria Sequence test.

As you know, this test has continually dropped in price from its initial introduction at $895 in 2005.    These price decreases were related to volume and workflow, translating productivity into economies of scale that allowed us to reduce prices to those customers interested in testing their full mitochondrial sequence.

Now Family Tree DNA is doing it again, but this time we are going to take advantage of new technology that will allow us to run more samples in less time, and the savings are substantial.

We will jumpstart this new era of complete mtDNA testing with a very aggressive price in order to build the comparative database to the levels that genetic genealogists will be able to use to answer precise ancestral and geographic questions.

So now to the news that you are waiting for:    before a new price for the full mtDNA test is introduced in November, we will be offering our current customers a promotion at the following prices, valid until October 31st, 2009:

         $179 for those who have already tested HVR1 and HVR2
         $199 for those who have already tested HVR1
Orders need to placed and paid for by the end of the day, October 31st, 2009.

Depending upon the time that it takes to process these upgrade orders using our new hardware, we may experience a back order or lag time in November.    If this occurs we expect to resolve the backlog in December.

© All Contents Copyright 2001-2009 Genealogy by Genetics, Ltd."

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I've written to FTDNA asking whether the special price applied to anyone who has already tested HVR1 and/or HVR2 regardless of where they tested (as the offer states) or if it's only for those who have tested HVR1 and/or HVR2 with FTDNA.    I'll let you know their response.    Anyone for a wager?

UPDATE - POSTED AT 9:35 AM, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2009:   "Dear Jim, Thank you for your email.    This special offer is only good for people that have tested with Family Tree DNA."
FOLLOW-UP:   "But just so I'm clear - are you speaking only of folks who have tested their mtDNA?    ... or also those who have tested their Y-DNA with Family Tree DNA?"

FOLLOW-UP FOLLOW-UP - POSTED AT 7:29 PM:    Still no response even though I sent my follow-up inquiry to FTDNA again.    Suppose the question is too dumb to bother with?

I took a look online and can surmise the answer, I guess.    My wife's FGS price (she tested HVR1 & HVR2 with FTDNA) is $179.    My FGS price (I tested HVR1 & HVR2 with Argus Biosciences) is $229.    Not so bad itself.