Family Tree DNA summer sale

Family Tree DNA have announced their sizzling summer sale which runs until 25th June. The following tests are reduced for the duration of the sale:

- Y-DNA 37 for US $119 (£82) (Regular price would be $149 (£103) )

- Y-DNA 67 for US $199 (£138) (Regular price would be $239 (£166) )

- Y-DNA 37 + mtDNA for US $159 (£110) (Combined test would cost $238 (£164) )
- Y-DNA37 + mtDNAPlus for $189.00 (£127) (Combined test would cost US $269 (£191) )

To qualify for the sale prices kits need to be paid for by 30th June, 2010.

To see prices in other currencies you can use one of the many online currency converters such as the XE Universal Currency Converter.

If you have any family or friends who are interested in DNA testing you might like to tell them about the sale, and perhaps we might find a few more U4s too!

The special prices are only available for kits ordered through projects. There are now almost 6,000 projects at Family Tree DNA, and a full alphabetical list of projects can be found here. Even if there is no project for your surname it is usually possible to find a suitable geographical project. We have put together a list of the geographical projects which are of most relevance to U4s on the U4 project website.

If you are not familiar with the different types of DNA tests you might like to read Debbie Kennett's brief article which was published in the Berkshire Family Historian and which can now be found online here. In the meantime if you have any questions do get in touch.

Family Tree DNA winter sale

Family Tree DNA have announced their winter sale which runs from now until the end of December. If you have already tested with Family Tree DNA and know that you belong to haplogroup U4 this information will probably not be of relevance. You might however have family or friends who are interested in taking a DNA test, and perhaps you could encourage them to participate. If you have tested with a different testing company you might like to consider re-testing with Family Tree DNA to confirm your haplogroup and to increase your chances of finding a match by adding your results to the world's largest genetic genealogy database. In addition, Family Tree DNA is currently the only company which offers the full sequence mtDNA test on a commercial basis. A comparison chart showing the differences between the mtDNA tests offered by the various testing companies can be found here. Full details of the FTDNA sale are given below in the letter received by the U4 project administrators.

Dear Project Administrator,

2009 is coming to a close and we're finishing it off with an end-of-the-year promotion!

First, though, let me thank you for helping us make our recent Full Mitochondria Sequence sale a resounding success. Despite the challenging economy this was the most successful promotion in our company's history.

Our Holiday Season promotion will bring back the discount that we offered this summer for the Y-DNA37, since this has been requested by many of our project administrators.

Y-DNA37 – promotional price $119 (reg. price $149)
Y-DNA67 – promotional price $209 (reg. price $239)
mtDNAPlus – promotional price $139 (reg. price $149)
SuperDNA – promotional price $488 (reg. price $665)

Orders for the above tests need to be placed and paid for by December 31, 2009 to receive the sale price.

IMPORTANT: since this promotion will run through the months of November and December, we encourage you to spread the word starting now, as the natural tendency is for people to order at the last minute, and we will not extend it beyond 12/31/2009.

In addition here are the newly released permanent prices for the Full Mitochondria Sequence:

New kit (mtDNA Full Sequence) $279
Upgrade from HVR1 $229
Upgrade from HVR2 $209
mtDNA Full Sequence after testing Y-DNA $249

Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate your contribution to the sustained growth of the Family Tree DNA matching database, the best genealogical matching tool of its kind.

Bennett Greenspan
President
Family Tree DNA

The special prices for Y-DNA tests apply only to orders placed through surname or geographical projects. You can search for surname projects on the Family Tree DNA website. The geographical projects can be found here. There is a list of the geographical project of particular relevance to U4 project members on the U4 website. If you have any questions about which test to take, which project to join or DNA testing in general do please get in touch.