One feature that's kind of fun (if you test positive for the the nerd gene) at The Other Two Companies: the "waiting" threads in the forums.

At one company, incoming kits are assigned batch numbers, and someone starts a thread for each one. At the other company, a new thread is started every month.

What's the point of a waiting thread? To calm/cause OCD twitches and amuse statistics junkies, of course. :)

Generally, people make a post saying when they ordered their test, when they received it, when they mailed it back, and when they got a message that processing had started.

Later, they may report processing updates (although that's not applicable for Ancestry's autosomal test), and finally they post an update when the results come in.

But, really, everyone in the thread is just madly doing the math on everyone else's progress so they can try to guess when they'll get their own results. ;)

(That, and comfort each other through the waiting game.)

I'm not sure if such a topic would do well here, but since I *finally* just sent in my second kit and am now waiting, what the heck... why not post your data if you're in the tick-tock top-tapping club.?

(People seem to not find the DNA boards here until they have their results, which may mean that we're just not a waiting thread kind of community. That's okay. We'll always have our contentious private tree threads to keep us close.)

DATA:

Family Member: Dad (second kit)

Kit Ordered: 9/17 (See below.)

Kit Arrived: Don't recall, but it was fast.

Sample Sent: 2/16

Sample Arrived: 2/20

Estimated Results: 4/03 - 4/17

Other:

Yep, I've had this kit since September! I made a big fuss here in the forums at the time because I didn't want to order a second kit, even at a reduced price, without any word from Ancestry on raw data and/or comparison tools. Then I caved in the final sale hours and decided that I may as well grab another one, just in case the final price later was enormous or more features were added soon. Good job, Ancestry marketing peeps!

I finally handed the kit to my Dad this past weekend. (I'm visiting my family before I move overseas, so sorting out everyone's DNA now is ideal... which is why I very very very reluctantly just ordered several kits from Another Company despite my love for the tree features here and my optimism that this will be the test to beat, but that's another story.) So poor Dad had to spit for this Ancestry test, scrape up a cheek swab for a yDNA test elsewhere, and later this week he'll spit for Another Company. I know he'll forgive me eventually.

However, I'm thinking this kit may be returned because a) Dad may have smoked too soon beforehand (as a non-smoker, I was only thinking of food and drink - duh!), and b) I'm not sure he gave the best sample. (I won't elaborate as some of you may be delicate, but you can use your knowledge of Dad's cigarette habit plus your imagination and go from there.)

Oh, and there's also c) the fact that while driving across country for this trip I was caught in a snowstorm in Flagstaff. I brought in all valuables from the car to the hotel room, as one does, completely forgetting the kit in the trunk overnight. Oops. One company (Ancestry?) says their kit will survive a very wide temp range (-114 F to 114 F, I think?), so maybe it's a non-issue. (Unlike the inability of the hotel restaurant chef to make a grilled cheese sandwich, which was totally an issue, but - oops - this isn't Yelp. Sorry.)

OK, I'll play - especially since our tests arrived one day apart.

DATA:

Family Member: Dad (third kit, did my mom earlier)

Kit Ordered: 1/28

Kit Arrived: 2/4 (exactly 1 week)

Sample Sent: 2/11

Sample Arrived: 2/19 (coming from East Coast)

Estimated Results: 4/2 - 4/16 (6 to 8 weeks)

Notes: No problems getting the sample, but I'm not sure he has any idea what it's for (he is 86).

I’m in.
Here’s what I can find from my email records:
Ordered kit: 08/14/12.
Kit shipped: 08/20/12.
I activated it: 08/24/12.
Sample arrived at Ancestry: 09/01/12.
Results received: before 09/14/12. I’m not sure how long before this that I got my results, but 09/14 was the day I wrote to my children to break the news that their mother was 73% Scandinavian and 15% Southern European (results contrary to all known family history). :)
Oh, sorry. I'm not waiting, so maybe I shouldn't have responded? Ahem. As long as I'm off topic: Shari, I take aluminum foil and grilled-cheese makings with me and grill them with the room's clothes iron. :)

(Of course the thread was moved despite mentioning "autosomal" in the post - I just failed to do it in all caps in the subject line with flashing glitter. Mea culpa. No worries, though. We can certainly include mtDNA/yDNA tests in waiting threads, although I'm skeptical that many people purchase those tests from Ancestry these days. Anyone have a guess on the numbers for that?)

ANYway! Excellent tip on the ironed grilled cheese! I think there's a whole cookbook to be made featuring "Rustic Motel-crafted Cuisine." I've done both terrible and beautiful things to hotel coffeemakers in the pursuit of hot chocolate. Maybe there's a MacGuyver gene...

I sent out two test kits for Another Company today, so I'm curious to see who will be faster - them or Ancestry - especially since they've both increased the wait time by a couple of weeks due to demand.

I wonder how fast autosomal testing goes when you don't have to wait your turn. I would totally slap another ten bucks on the table to cut the time in half, but I don't think anyone's set up to offer an express lane yet. There ya go, Ancestry, a free idea. :) (But sort out the comparison tools first!)

I'm glad I was up early enough to see the reply here from DPotts that has since been deleted.

Just another fun thing to do while WAITING.

For the results on my AUTOSOMAL test.

In February 2013.

:)

Sincerely,
Shari the On-Topic

So, did Ancestry notify you when they received your sample? I haven't received anything from them since mailing mine on 2/12.

Yep, an email from ancestry@ancestry.com came four days after I mailed it from Texas. The subject line was "AncestryDNA update: Your DNA sample has arrived."

Body of message:

------------------------
Good news! Your DNA sample has arrived.
AncestryDNA™ has received the sample with the activation code: (code)

You can expect to receive your results in the next 6-8 weeks, so look for an email from us notifying you when they're ready. In the meantime, we encourage you to update your family tree or start a tree if you don't already have one.

Thank you,
The AncestryDNA team
-----------------------------------

You might check your spam folder for some of those keywords. It says to contact memberservices@ancestrydna.com if you have any questions - maybe give them a buzz in a few days if the email still hasn't come.

Meanwhile! Hey, we could do a whole new comparison on the DNA testing companies and their mailing procedures.

Ancestry and 23andMe get a point for not requiring customers to affix postage. 23andMe gets a point for providing a tracking number. I think the only way FTDNA will get a point is if someone really loves padded mailers more than the boxes. :)

DougCorbin51,

They do send emails, but you can also see if they received it by logging in and clicking on the DNA tab. Mine took 1 week from the east coast, so yours should have gotten there by now.

David Mc

I had to resubmit my test because the last test didn't have 'enough' sample. It was in the processing lab for three weeks before I was told that there was insufficient information.

My second test was received on 2/5 and now it has been three weeks, and I'm getting a little antsy wondering if I'll actually receive test results.

My husband's DNA test was processed within two weeks and so was my daughter's....

Patricia

Yikes, Patricia. Maybe it's just the lag of increased sales. Keep us posted. I wonder if Ancestry has an alternative collection method if it fails twice.