Tips on handling Ancestry withdrawal

The interest in my blog post, Why I cancelled my Ancestry subscription after 12 years, caused, caused my website to crash twice on the day it was published. The high traffic resulted in my website exceeding the bandwidth. Fortunately, my host server quickly fixed the problem each time.

Disappointment and frustration
Dozens of people shared their comments on social media and on the blog post itself about Ancestry’s apparent unwillingness to retain its long-time customers by offering the same discounts they offer new customers.

What I particularly enjoyed was that almost all of the comments were made in the same spirit with which I wrote the blog post. There was no bashing of Ancestry’s products. Everyone expressed and shared my disappointed and frustration with Ancestry not valuing loyalty.

Yes, we all know why Ancestry woos new customers. It is Marketing 101. They want to increase their customer base. Giving discounts to new customers is an old sales technique used by many subscription-type companies, such as newspapers.

Amber’s tweet reflected what others wrote on Twitter and Facebook: “I feel your frustration, so many companies would rather pursue new customers instead of working to keep loyal ones.”

Rowland tweeted, “Same principal as cell phone companies — the newbies get the goods while the rest of us underwrite their good deal.”

How to handle withdrawal from Ancestry
Many people shared their tips on how they have received a discount on an Ancestry subscription. You can read about them in the blog comments and on the Genealogy à la carte Facebook group.

What did surprise me, however, was the number of suggestions of what to do during my Ancestry withdrawal period and how this may turn out to be a benefit. Here are just a few of them.

I look at these experiences as positive. You’re free to do things differently! Sometimes we see things differently when we’re disrupted from our usual habits. Try out FindmyPast. Try out MyHeritage. There’s much less withdrawal symptoms if you look at this as a bold exploration into new territory. — Concetta

If you can hold out you might find you can live without ancestry.com. For a year, try some other subscriptions. I’ve filled in with findmypast and AmericanAncestors to name two. Other options are out there and lots of them are FREE. … It’s a good opportunity to use other databases who might have something Ancestry doesn’t have. — Toni

I use Wikitree to keep an on-line family tree which my family members can access at no cost. And, I give all of my genealogy-based volunteer support to FamilySearch.
— Ann

Ancestry Library Edition is a life-saver. And you’re helping your library every time you go there to use it. More feet through the door, more computer sessions, and more database hits means higher stats for the library and, hopefully, more funding.
— Teresa

I use the library access and any free search weekends I can. I also spend my money elsewhere, subscribing to small family history societies, as well as the bigger ones such as OGS and SOG. — Penny

My approach is to always have other things I need to do: contact churches, reach out to genealogy guilds, make a trip to Family History Centers to see FamilySearch records only available at those locations, organize and write up stories for my ancestors, do all that organizing I need to do so I know what I still need to find. I can also still get on my trees and clean up all sorts of things. I also tell myself by taking a one month break, I’m giving myself a 15% discount even if Ancestry never gives me one. — Karen

Your alternative when on hiatus is to explore all the assets familysearch.org offers that don’t show up through the basic search page and the wealth of info available through newspaper sites (try their short trial offers). — Joyce

It’s a great opportunity to get your research in order and analyze what you already have. If you’re constantly distracted by BSO (Bright Shiny Objects), they you’ll never have time to do that. — Pamela

Many thanks for the support and helpful suggestions.

Postscript
In the interest of transparency, shortly after I drafted this post, and within 24 hours of my cancellation, I saw a banner at the bottom of my AncestryDNA home page, offering me a 50-percent discount on a World Deluxe subscription.

They wanted me back.

When I clicked on the link, this is what I saw.

I took the bait.

Please understand that my previous blog post had nothing to do with me receiving the offer. A friend received the same offer, and she does not blog.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it is to cancel your membership and wait. Sometimes they may you wait a month or two. Sometimes the offer comes quickly.

It is also a very good thing to explore other collections — online and in person.