23andMe's Black Friday Sale is Here until November 27, Save Up to 50%

The Holiday Season is here! 

We will try to highlight what we have found but may not write a post about all we have seen. Our best advice is if you are interested in a website or product, check on that website/product frequently just in case they hold a flash sale.

Please take note, wondering minds can always click the labels/tags in our blog's left-hand column to see the sales in past years to get an idea of the sales trends for prior years. Click on the desired topic or the Savings tag/label.

23andMe

23andMe is running its Black Friday sale until November 27, 2022, and there is a limit of three test kits for this sale. You'll need to supply your email on the website's homepage to receive the offer. Remember taxes and shipping are extra.

23andMe's Ancestry + Traits DNA test is $99 at its regular price, for this sale it is $79.

23andMe's Health + Ancestry Service is $199 at its regular price, for this sale it is $99.

You can also get the 23andMe Health + Ancestry Service test kit plus one year of the 23andMe Membership now labeled the 23andMe+ Membership. As above the Health+Ancestry test is regularly $199 but on sale for $99 when purchased as a bundle with the $29 one year prepaid membership which is not on sale, the total price about $128 or $129.

23andMe Ancestry Service (autosomal DNA) provides an ethnicity (admixture) report, list of DNA matches, chromosome browser and an internal member messaging system. 23andMe also provides a general look at your Y-DNA haplogroup (if male) and a general look at your mtDNA haplogroup. Some DNA matching features/tools are now part of the subscription service. A newer feature is the Family Tree feature which is automatically built from your DNA relationships. See the 23andMe website to learn more about the Health service features which includes 65+ health reports including Health Predisposition reports, Wellness reports, Carrier Status reports, includes FDA-authorized reports.

23andMe made some changes to its service in 2019 without any announcements to its customers before the changes happened. Be aware that with the recent ethnicity update it was learned that testers on the earlier testing chips would not receive any ethnicity updates at that time, only those on the V5 Chip. Also, a few months prior testers' DNA matches were reduced down to just 1,500 matches. (That leaves most testers with matches related at the furthest in the 4th to 5th cousin range.) The search capabilities were restricted from what it had been capable of before. 23andMe implemented a yearly subscription ($29/year) for customers on the V5 Chip who also have tested their Health too. Those that subscribe get access to three times the DNA matches, advanced search capabilities (like those that were there before and some other ways to filter matches), and a new series of health reports related to genetics and medicines as well as some predisposition reports. Unfortunately, that means existing customers not on the V5 chip would need to retest (yes, pay) so their DNA is on the V5 chip. But if an early tester is deceased there is no way to re-test that person on the V5 Chip.

With these changes, 23andMe reduces it usability for most genealogists to use DNA to aid their research. For adoptees, donor conceived and others searching for mis-attributed parentage (not parent expected) situations, you still never know where that someone tested and so at a good sale price the 23andMe Ancestry Only test or really good sale price for the 23andMe Ancestry+Health test it might be worthwhile. But there may be limitations if that someone they seek is tested on a V4 or earlier chip. 

As a reminder, 23andMe also sells its test kits on Amazon.com and often at sale prices when it is having a sale. At this time, 23andMe DNA tests are on sale at Amazon at the same sale prices ($79, $99, and $129 and though the entries link to a 23andMe Store the seller is given as Woot which is apparently a company owned by Amazon.) Non-Amazon Prime members get free shipping due to the total cost and because it is fulfilled by Amazon while Amazon Prime members just get quicker 2-day shipping for free. Usually, be cautious and make sure the test kit you are buying is "sold by 23andMe, Inc and fulfilled by Amazon" to insure you are buying a genuine test kit. You will find this information just below the price. See the image below. 

Look for this before adding your item to your cart.

 

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE