This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Author: ksaxe Surnames: McConnell, Donald Classification: queries Message Board URL: http://boards.rootsweb.com/surnames.mcconnell/2475/mb.ashx Message Board Post: More on RG and FTDNA Conversion Options In my previous post about testing options that McConnells and other men with some indication of Clan Donald ancestry might use to join the Clan Donald DNA project, I said that, "Unfortunately, the testing options that FTDNA [Familytree DNA] and RG [Relative Genetics] offer for those with test results from their competitors are nearly as expensive as starting from scratch." Fortunately, that may not always be the case. In some cases the regular rates offered by RG for conversions do offer a decent discount. It turns out that FTDNA has occasionally offered promotional rates for conversions from other companies. The last such promotion ended on August 15th. It was not offered to individuals whose only results were from the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF), but it was available to individuals tested by Relative Genetics, DNA Heritage, Oxford Ancestors, and Genebase. This promotion was not easy to find on the FTDNA site, but Leah Wark of FTDNA posted announcements of the promotion on FTDNA's DNA and Genealogy and Group Administrators forums on July 11. The discount was substantial. Thanks go to Bob Stafford of the DNA-Genealogy list for helping me find this information. You can find the forums where FTDNA's announcement was posted here: http://www.familytreedna.com/forum The posts have a link to the following form with details including pricing: http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/promo_gap.pdf Whether you could use that form now, weeks after the official closing date of the promotion, I do not know. Leah Wark's posts said that such promotions had been offered in the past and were back by popular demand. So it wouldn't hurt to ask. If that doesn't work... Earlier posts on the DNA-Genealogy list suggest that at times some individuals may have been able to go through an unusual process of ordering some panels of markers with FTDNA and only paying for some of those. This would allow them to receive results for some of FTDNA's panels of markers that were of interest to them at the normal prices for upgrades by FTDNA customers, which are lower than the prices for conversion options. One individual who was interested in this option had previous test results for 12 markers from FTDNA, 43 markers tested through RG, and 5 tested through DNA Fingerprint. From the posts that I saw, it was not clear to me whether or not this sort of option has ever been available to people who had never been tested by FTDNA before. To learn more about this option, check out the following message in the DNA-Genealogy list archives along with others on the same thread: http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/GENEALOGY-DNA/2007-06/1180828296 These messages were posted recently, but if the process worked smoothly, the poster probably has test results now. If you are interested in any sort of FTDNA conversion, you may wish to contact FTDNA and/or the individuals on the DNA-Genealogy list to learn more. Kirsten Saxe Important Note: The author of this message may not be subscribed to this list. If you would like to reply to them, please click on the Message Board URL link above and respond on the board.