Thursday 6 February 2014

Hefty price increases introduced by FindMyPast

http://www.awin1.com/cread.php?s=263217&v=2114&q=125479&r=123532
FindMyPast has introduced new and much increased subscription costs across its international sites and brought in monthly rates where they didn't exist before.

Turning the spotlight on the Ireland site as an example, the cost of a 12-month subscription to Ireland-only records is now €99.50, up from €59, representing a 67% increase! That's what I call a BIG increase.

The 12-month subscription to the World package now costs €149.50.

The Ireland-Britain package, which was very useful for family history researchers with ancestors hopping back and forth across the Irish Sea, has been discontinued.

The old 6-month subscription offer has also been discontinued. In its place, a monthly option has been launched (this option was previously available on some of the other FindMyPast platforms, but not .ie). For Ireland-only, this will cost €9.95; for World it will cost €14.95.

As the official FindMyPast line says, this gives family historians the opportunity to get to know the site without any long-term commitment.

I'm told that the monthly option for all 'local' packages eg the Britain option via FindMyPast.co.uk, the Australia/NewZealand option via FindMyPast.com.au will be 9.95 in the local currency. This, then, will be the headline rate. Expect to see FindMyPast adverts emblazoned with 'From *9.95' from now on, or references to 'discover your ancestors for less than *10'.

So how lies the land? It seems that, for the Ireland package via FindMyPast.ie, at least (I haven't looked beyond the Ireland costings), the increased subscription cost remains competitive. Here's a quickie comparison:

FindMyPast.ie – Ireland collection €99 per annum or €9.50 for a month. 2 week free trial linked to credit card.

Ancestry.co.uk – Premium subscription required for access to Irish records £107.40 (€129.56) annually or £12.95 (€15.62) per month. 2 week free trial linked to credit card.

Irishorigins.com - 72 hour subscription for £6 (€7.23) or £9.50 (€11.46) for a month.