I tried their trial period, and their website is really cool. However, after that trial period, you can't do anything without paying them for it. At $19.95 per month, it's insanely expensive. And what's worse is that when you try their "Contact Us" form, it won't even let you submit the comment. A site like that should be paid for via advertising revenue. Chadlupkes 18:21, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
We initially resisted getting an Ancestry subscription---maybe ten years back. At the time the key data set (census records) was very incomplete, and a lot of the stuff you could get for free online. There were also some concerns about customer service etc. At some point the content increased substantial, and they had most of the census records online. (Now ALL of the US census data is online). We gave it a trial, at an introductory price, decided it was worth it just because of the elimination of the hassle of getting microfilm of the census records. Its now a central part of our research effort. The fact that Ancestry has everything from the Census online has, unfortunately, just about killed the USGEN WEB volunteer census transcription project. I suspect few people find any point in typing in What Ancestry has already done, and probably done more reliably than we could expect from volunteers. The Transcription project was a great idea, but its pretty much outdated now. Perhaps some data entry is still occurring, but I doubt it.
As to the price, I think you may be quoting the deluxe international package. The package we have is considerably cheaper than that---its less than $15/month, but its the middle of the road package---gives you access to their electronic versions of family histories, newspapers, etc, in addition to basic services. I don't recall what the basic service cost is, but its probably about $10/month. I personally don't think the international subscription is presently worth the price, at least for us. Its probably OK if your ancestors came from England, after 1850 or so, but most of our ancestors seem to have greated the Mayflower, and currently the international data for Great Britain and the continent isn't that comprehensive as to be useful for us....Sort of the same situation as when Ancestry was first starting out---spotty coverage. Bill 20:53, 30 May 2007 (UTC)
- Hi Bill. If you're focused on Genealogical research, then it's a great service at a decent price. But if you're just a dabbler, like I am, it's not worth the money. Maybe someday. Chadlupkes 21:01, 30 May 2007 (UTC)