Y-DNA test and match - what's the problem ?

[mcsking]

Can anyone give an explanation why Y-DNA testing is so limited and so expensive?
As i understand it Y-DNA was the first and simplest DNA test to be offered for Genealogy. The technology rule of thumb says it ought to be cheaper, easier, better and more generally available now.
Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) seem to be the only company offering Y-DNA matching database and their tests are so expensive most people dont bother. Because the of this the Y-DNA database is limited so most people dont bother. I'm the kind of sucker that bought all the FTDNA Y-DNA tests and the number of matches is so limited (zero above Y37) as to be not useful.

Living DNA offer a very sensibly priced Y-DNA test but no matching service and no way to relate it to the FTDNA data. Y-DNA "experts" on Youtube sneer at the LDNA test but dont say why. I bought it anyway but the Living DNA Y-DNA test is essentially worthless for Genealogy because you cant use it for matching.

With their much larger user and record base if MyHeritage or Ancestry offered Y-DNA they could either bundle it into their standard test package or offer it as a sensibly priced extra. Anything extra to include or exclude matches would be useful especially where the atDNA starts to get fuzzy. Even Gedmatch who presumably could offer a Y-DNA upload and matching service for a fee dont.

Is there something about Y-DNA testing that makes it unique or difficult? Or is there a patent or legal concern preventing it from being generally offered?

[Lesley Robertson]

Consent from living people who might not want their data used?

[cicilysmith]

If you do an autosomal test, you don't have to do any more. Just solve all your matches. If you take a Y-DNA test, you may have to spend a lot more money. What you get is the general haplogroup, then you join a project, or different projects and you will be told to do Big-Y or at the least to buy individual SNPs or packages of SNPs. I am involved with 3 different Y-DNA kits. One worked like a dream, but all the members still ended up doing Big-Y to get there. My husband's didn't produce anyone with the same name as a match but was a big help and my brother is still stuck, after a number of years, with 3 low grade matches from thousands of years ago. cicilysmith

[ejsteele56]

YDNA testing isn't only beneficial in locating possible relatives, but is also useful in identifying who is not. For example, as I mentioned in another thread, I was able to get my terminal haplogroup (R-S3997) and identify others with that same haplogroup. However, I was also able to rule out many others with whom I share the same surname, who are not even close to being related which is useful when cleaning up family trees that contain bad information.