Hello List,
I can answer a couple of Berny's questions on the list. And, by the
way, I usually open a list message with, "Hello List," which seems
pretty silly, but it's my way of trying to alert you to the fact that
it's a public list message, not a private email. When I email you
privately, I will almost always address you by name. Another clue
that it's a list message is the [CARRICO-DNA] in the Subject line.
Prior to the announcement of the Y-DNA111 test, FTDNA was offering 67
"Standard" STR markers and another 29 "Advanced" STR markers. The
latter could be ordered "a la carte" at a price that topped $300 if
you ordered them all - as listed on my out-of-date web page:
http://dgmweb.net/DNA/General/FTDNA-Markers-maxout.html
which has become even more out-of-date with Wednesday's announcement.
The Y-Refine-67-to-111 upgrade includes the former 29 Advanced STR
markers, plus 15 new STR markers, not formerly offered. That's $101
for 44 markers, which is quite a bargain in comparison.
The reason for the price drop is that they now have chips to "gang"
test these markers, as opposed to custom testing them one at a time.
I don't know how long this price will be offered, probably until the
production line is "full up," which may not be for long. FTDNA is in
the habit of offering tests "on sale" when there's "slack" in the
lab,
then withdrawing the discount when back at full capacity, which means
it's quite unpredictable, even by them, when such discounts will end.
If you have already taken the 29 advanced markers, you will still have
to opt for the full Y-Refine-67-to-111 upgrade, meaning you will have
tested 29 markers, twice. The reason for the duplication is that it's
now cheaper to gang test the 44 than it is to individually custom test
the 15. $101 for an additional 15 markers is still not bad when you
consider that the individual tests cost $7.20 each (7.2 x 15 = $108).
Diana