Thursday, November 23, 2017

2017 Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday Sales are All Around Us

Rather than recreate the wheel, remember to visit Genealogy Bargains website often over the next several days to keep an eye on Thomas MacEntee's list of all the genealogy bargains he has found.

Here are just a few mentions.

As you know from our last post, Family Tree DNA's FamilyFinder (autosomal) DNA test has been on sale for $59 after a one-day Flash sale for $49 the other week to start off the holiday sale. Well ladies and gentlemen, from today (Thanksgiving) until Cyber Monday, Nov. 27, the FamilyFinder test is on sale for $49 (the lowest price ever.) Shipping is extra.

It appears a third-party is selling the FamilyFinder test at the sale price on Amazon which qualifies for free shipping (for both regular and Prime members) but we have not tried purchasing this test thru Amazon so check reviews before buying.

Today is the last day for 23andMe's Ancestry Only DNA test sale. Buy two for $49 each or one for $69. Will they have a Black Friday - Cyber Monday sale? Possibly. It might be both tests (the 23andMe Ancestry only and the 23andMe Ancestry+Health) or just the Ancestry+Health. We have a few hours to wait and find out.

AncestryDNA is expected to have a sale too. Perhaps Black Friday only or it may run thru Cyber Monday. Again, we have to wait to learn.

Both 23andMe and AncestryDNA sell directly on their respective websites and on the Amazon website.

MyHeritageDNA autosomal DNA test is now on sale for $49 plus shipping until Cyber Monday, Nov. 27. Regular price is $99.

A fifth, much newer DNA testing company called LivingDNA is having a sale on its autosomal DNA test called LivingDNA. This company, based in the United Kingdom, is trying to get its ethnicity mixture test down to regions starting with Great Britain. The test is regularly $159 and the current Black Friday sale price is $89. Shipping varies from $9.95 standard to $39.95 for premium delivery. But be aware the company does not offer a matches database at this time so all you get is your ethnicity mixture and a general look at Y-DNA haplogroup (if male) and mtDNA haplogroup (male and female) similar to 23andMe's general look at haplogroups.

DNA testing kits are not the only things on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. There are many more genealogy-related and technology-related items on sale too.

Just keep an eye on your favorite subscription websites, genealogy-publishing websites, other membership services (like societies and webinars to name just two types), software companies, and technology stores. Even keep an eye on Amazon especially the books and software categories.

For example:
Evidentia Software is having a 25% off holiday sale with coupon code HOLIDAYS25. The length of this was not mentioned.

MacKiev Software is having a discount sale on the upgrade price to Family Tree Maker 2017. If you have not already bought the upgrade to FTM2017 (and you own a previous version made by Ancestry.com or earlier publishers of the software) you can purchase the download version of the upgrade for $59.95 instead of the regular upgrade price of $79.95. If you haven't already verified with MacKiev that you have a previous version, join the Family Tree Maker mail list. You get an email newsletter with a link to the the upgrade promo pricing.

Genealogy Bargains mentions that RootsMagic is having a sale too for Black Friday-Cyber Monday.

There are lots of other sales listed, and more will likely be added as the day/weekend progresses. MacEntee often finds discount codes for various genealogy- or technology-related items at Amazon too. 

So keep an eye out and stay safe shopping.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

2017 Holiday DNA Sales Have Begun!

While dealing with the falling leaves DNA holiday sales popped up on us. So here is a run down of the current DNA sales.

Family Tree DNA
Family Tree DNA ended its conference and began its holiday sales with a 7-hour FLASH sale on Sunday that featured a new lowest price ever ($49) for the FamilyFinder (autosomal) test. Hopefully you spotted that sale. If not, on Monday, Nov. 13, Family Tree DNA began its annual Holiday Sale which ends December 31, 2017. So what is on sale this year?

Family Tree DNA 2017 Holiday Sales include:
Autosomal DNA
Family Finder Test (autosomal for male or female) regular price $89 ... now $59

Y-DNA

Y37 Test (Y-DNA for males only) regular price $169 ... now $129
Y67 Test (Y-DNA for males only) regular price $268 ... now $229
Y111 Test (Y-DNA for males only) regular price $359 ... now $299


mtDNA
mtFull-Sequence Test (for males or females) regular price $199 ... now $169

Test Bundles (two or more test types bundled together to test one person)
FamilyFinder + Y37 Test (Y-DNA for males only) regular price $258 ... now $178
FamilyFinder + Y67 Test (Y-DNA for males only) regular price $357 ... now $278 
FamilyFinder + mtFull-Sequence Test (for males or females) regular price $288 ... now $218
Comprehensive Genome (FamilyFinder + Y67 Test + mtFull-Sequence Test (Y-DNA for males only)) regular price $556 ... now $442

If you have any questions about a test type, click on the FamilyTreeDNA label in the left column of this blog to see prior posts some of which explain the different tests. Or read about each test on the Family Tree DNA website.

In addition just like in previous years, if you are on the Family Tree DNA email list and/or have any tests kits at Family Tree DNA, you will receive a weekly holiday reward offer (good for seven days) giving you additional savings offers that can be used on top of the sale prices. You can you these weekly holiday reward offers yourself or share them with one person. Each reward can only be used once (by a single person.)

Each week of the holiday season you (actually each of your kits) will receive a new holiday reward offer for that week (good for seven days.) Just sign into each of your test kits, click on the reward icon from the DNA Dashboard to see each test's specific reward. You can use the reward yourself or share it with a friend by using the share link in your kit. Like last year, if you use or a friend uses one of your reward codes then you will get a bonus reward.

Shipping and taxes are extra which vary depending on where the test is being shipped. Last known price (by us) on shipping to Michigan is $12.95 which covers receiving and sending the test.

AncestryDNA
The Ancestry.com Holiday Sale on its AncestryDNA autosomal test is $79 (regular price $99) plus taxes and shipping. Additional kits purchased at the same time are just $69 each. There is no posted date as to when this sale ends.

We are not sure if the FREESHIPDNA coupon code will work with this sale but it does not hurt to try it.

In addition, Ancestry Gift Memberships are 20% off until November 23, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Choices include 6-month or 12-month plans to either the U.S. Discovery (access all U.S. records) or World Explorer (access U.S. and international records) subscriptions.

Ancestry also sells its DNA test directly on Amazon. There Prime members and non-prime members get free shipping. The price on Amazon reflects the current sale price ($79) for one. It appears you will not get the additional savings when buying more than one kit at a time.

23andMe
The 23andMe Thankgiving Sale started last week on its 23andMe Ancestry only test. Buy two 23andMe Ancestry only tests at the same time for $49 each (regular price $99 each.) If you want just one, the sale price will be $69. Shipping is extra. Remember 23andMe switched to the new Illumina Global Screening Array chip that is not very compatible with other companies. No end date for this sale has been posted yet. The 23andMe Ancestry+Health test is still regular price, $199.

23andMe also sells its DNA test directly on Amazon. There Prime members and non-prime members get free shipping. The price on Amazon reflects the current sale price ($69) for one. It appears you will not get the additional savings when buying more than two test kits at a time.

MyHeritageDNA
Also starting early is MyHeritage's Thanksgiving Sale on its MyHeritageDNA (autosomal) test. The sale price is $59 regular price $99) plus shipping. This sale runs until November 23, 2017.

So what about Black Friday (Nov. 24) and Cyber Monday (Nov. 27) sales? 
Well it is possible AncestryDNA, 23andMe, and MyHeritageDNA may have a sale on one or both of those days based on past years. AncestryDNA had one last year for that weekend at $69. It could be lower this year, if they do a sale, based on the sale price at the other companies. The free shipping code likely won't work but if the sale price is good enough you will still come out ahead in the end. For 23andMe the current sale is a good one but if you are interested in the health aspect of the testing you might want to wait and see if that 23andMe Ancestry+Health test goes on sale. Since MyHeritageDNA is a newer kid on the block it is anyone's guess. 

We will keep an eye for additional genealogy-related sales and let you know about them here or tell you where to read all about them.


See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Friday, November 10, 2017

Got Swedish Ancestors? ArkivDigital Free Access Weekend Nov. 11 to 12, 2017

It is that time of year again. ArkivDigital is having a free access weekend to its Swedish Records and Books of interest to genealogists. Free Access runs from Nov. 11 to Nov. 12, 2017.

The site operates in Swedish and English. To participate you have to register your name and email (for free) with ArkivDigital. If you have not used ArkivDigital before, you will need to install the latest ArkivDigital viewer software in order to see the record images. (The ArkivDigital viewer works best in Google's Chrome browser, a free software.) ArkivDigital has a help page for this free access weekend.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

Nov. 8 to 12 Free Access to Military Records on FindMyPast Websites

FindMyPast is giving free access to Military Records from Nov. 8 to 12 to all United States and United Kingdom military records.

During this free access time period, you will need to sign-in to either your subscription account or free account.

If you do not have a free account at FindMyPast already, simply create one. (A free account is not the same as a free trial subscription so do not click on the link to sign up for a free trial subscription.) The simplest way to create a free account is to do a search, click to view a result image and the website will ask you to sign into your account or create a free account.

There are special search pages set up for this free access time period for two of the Find My Past websites -- FindMyPast.com's military search, and FindMyPast.co.uk's military search. You can access the military records regardless of country from either of the FindMyPast websites.

Have fun searching.
 

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Saturday, November 4, 2017

The Next Let's Talk...Genealogy Meeting is this Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017!

Wednesday, November 8, at 7 p.m. in the Local History & Genealogy Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is this month's MCGG Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. Our topic for the night is ... DNA Tested ... Now What?


We'll review some ways to make sense of those matches, and, of course, share our experiences with DNA testing.

New attendees are always welcome.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Free Access November 1-15 to the Fold3.com Native American Collection

Fold3 is offering free access to its Native American Collection from November 1 - 15. 

Just register for the basic Fold3 membership which is free with no credit card required. If you already have a free Fold3 basic membership, just sign into the website. (You do not need to sign up for a 7-day free trial which requires a credit card.) The easiest way to do this is to just start a search from the Native American Collection page and then click to view an image (marked free) and then the correct registration link to a free basic membership option will come up.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE