Earlier this year I let my Ancestry.com subscription expire and rarely went back to the site since I wouldn't have access to any records. I completely forgot about DNA Ancestry and when I visited I noticed some changes.
The most obvious change was the number of matches I now have. As of today, I have a total of 153 paternal DNA matches (based on the 46 marker Y-DNA test I took). The interesting part is I now have a new guy at the top of the list who is (according to DNA Ancestry) related to me within 12 generations (approx 300 years). The cool part is I can actually trace my paternal line almost 300 years, but this new guy's name is hispanic and not Italian so I don't know if it will be helpful.
The one group I joined (Y-DNA Haplogroup E1b1b - The Early Farmers) has grown much larger. I think the last time I looked it had under 100 members, but now is up to 254 and they appear to be a rather lively bunch. As normal, I never really participate, but I do find all of the comments interesting - I was struck by how knowledgable people are now about genitic genealogy compared to 3-4 years ago.
One thing that didn't change is the price. When I ordered the test not too long after Ancestry.com started, I think the Y-DNA 46 marker test cost me $149...the Y-DNA 46 marker test still costs $149. I think they lowered the 33 marker test, however, from $119 to $99.
I haven't heard a whole lot of complaining about Ancestry.com's DNA offering so maybe people are getting what they expect.
Check out this post to see a round-up of my DNA testing articles...most are dated now however.
