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23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

cnbc.com

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Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#151

Post by kaikai »

michaelt wrote: post #78
irrational wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, but unless you get your own results you have no idea how the dice rolled for you (how many other game metaphors can I use?).

What if I don't give a shit about being "20% scottish" and only care about relatives-I-didn't-know-I-had and genetically-heritable-illnesses and my parents' reports were clean?

Half siblings are probably the most interesting “relatives-you-didn’t-know-you-had” you can find! They might show up at any time, and you wouldn’t know without having your own account.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#152

Post by trianglem »

marcell wrote: post #95

They sold 10M kits, and they primarily market in the US. DNA never changes, so you have a lifetime max of 1 purchase of 23andMe per lifetime. Their competitors have likely sold 15-30M as well, so maybe 30-40M of these kits have been sold. That's 10% of US market. What's the max conceivable penetration here? 20%?

Yes, but they use a monthly subscription payment model so they should have a recurring income stream from all those users.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#153

Post by [deleted] »

lostinroutine wrote: post #49
knodi123 wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's no reason to ever buy the product again once you've done it once Actually I did it once about 10 years ago, and since then they've added a bunch of new diagnostic analyses they will perform, including a couple that are relevant to my family and I've been tempted to do it all again. (although wait, do they need more saliva, or do they just re-run my existing sample?)

As far as I know they do need a new sample of saliva because they don't store the ones they already analyzed.

[deleted]

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#154

Post by Ohn0 »

throwaway1777 wrote: post #98
bobthepanda wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I would also say that a partial reason why these would've dropped is that everyone who can do it has done it. You only need these kinds of results once because your DNA doesn't change. I knew people who were giving or had gotten these as gifts, but those are one-off purchases. And if you've heard of people doing it then you'll do it too but that's also a one-off. I don't think I'd personally benefit because…

New people are being born all the time. There are many industries based around one time purchases. Think appendix removal or weddings (that one may be more than once for some people)

Ah, the lucrative appendix removal industry.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#155

Post by OrgNet »

avocado4 wrote: post #80

23andme testing is one and done. Once you've had it you will never spend a dime with them. It's a red flag for any investor.

They could charge you a monthly fee to keep you up to date on discoveries in this field relating to your personal DNA? (not sure how often this actually happens....)

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#157

Post by bobthepanda »

throwaway1777 wrote: post #98
bobthepanda wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, I would also say that a partial reason why these would've dropped is that everyone who can do it has done it. You only need these kinds of results once because your DNA doesn't change. I knew people who were giving or had gotten these as gifts, but those are one-off purchases. And if you've heard of people doing it then you'll do it too but that's also a one-off. I don't think I'd personally benefit because…

New people are being born all the time. There are many industries based around one time purchases. Think appendix removal or weddings (that one may be more than once for some people)

There are many industries based around one time purchases. That doesn't make them immune to booms and busts.

23AndMe saw tremendous growth, both according to the article and my anecdotal experience, but that doesn't mean that the burst they saw was sustainable. It's looking, at least right now, like it's not.

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#158

Post by jamesrcole »

neivin wrote: post #118
hbosch wrote: post #104

I didn’t buy a test, because my brother did. Why pay $100 to get the same story twice?

I didn't buy the test because all it would say would be "Congrats! You are 100% asian." I feel like 23&me is literally only useful/interesting to white people because they can see which one of the 50 European countries they have ties to. It's not that useful for me. I've had friends do it and get 99.97% Chinese or Indian. Amazing, I could have told you that for free.

> I feel like 23&me is literally only useful/interesting to white people because they can see which one of the 50 European countries they have ties to.

I'm not familiar with the kinds of ancestry information they can provide, but why would that only apply to white people? Why not also, say, people with African heritage and which of the African countries they have ties to?

Re: 23andMe lays off 100 people as DNA test sales decline

#159

Post by 0xffff2 »

ab_testing wrote: post #145
zyang wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did it 6/7 years ago because the novelty, and enthusiastically recommended it to family and friends. Now I regret doing it considering how Google and Facebook has abused consumer data. I definitely would not submit my kids to the same fate.

If your kids were born in the United States,the states already has their genetic information. https://www.babysfirsttest.org/newborn-screening/states

The US Government already has my DNA thanks to my military service. I very much hope that they aren't sharing it with private companies though. Despite the government having my DNA I would still never give it to 23 and me.
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