"Trace was terrific and located my long…"

Trace was terrific and located my long missing 4times grandmother who was a major brick wall

"Worth my expenditure even though not what I hoped."

Did not get the answer I was asking for, but fully expected that. Otherwise, the ease of getting started was great, as was the usefulness of the final report. The researcher did a fantastic job and would like to giver her many thanks for her time and effort, especially during this COVID-19.

"Poor Communication and Breach of Research Plan"

I paid over $2,000 for Trace services, agreeing to Trace’s written research plan solely in agreement that the researcher would search records onsite at Alabama State Archives in person. Here is a copy/paste of the first sentence of the research plan: “Researcher will travel to the Alabama State Archives to conduct onsite research, as the client indicated that they have not been able to do so yet.”
I was shocked to discover when I received the final report nine months later that the terms of the plan were breached. In the nine months from agreement/payment to final report, I was not informed that the researcher was not going to do onsite research at the Alabama archives. In fact, in Feb. ’22, I had been led to believe that the plan was moving along as agreed. A monthly one-liner update dated 2/23/22 stated: “Researcher is making arrangements to travel to Alabama archives.” Yet the researcher never went, and no one ever informed me. I learned with the final report materials that the researcher had instead searched unindexed poor quality records available on FamilySearch. My research objective was not met, a risk I was aware of. What I wasn’t counting on was deviation from the agreement and Trace’s failure to communicate. I sent an email reply to the final report asking why I was not informed that the researcher would not go to the archives, and I never received a reply.
It gives me no pleasure to write this review about the company that states on its homepage “risk-free genealogy from the most talented professionals on Earth,” and “You choose the right research path for you,” and “Dedicated customer support team.”
There is no de-risking with Trace. Quite the contrary. Pursuing a research project with Trace was a total gamble. An expensive one which I regret.

"Trace's DNA Academy has good bones."

Trace's DNA Academy offered a clear and engaging course with case study application. The course help me streamline my analysis of DNA data and concisely summarize findings.

"Thank you so much"

Thank you so much! Concise and to the point. Able to apprehend my lookup goal clearly.

"DNA Academy was a very thorough"

DNA Academy was a very thorough, yet easily understandable, course. They provided many helpful forms and templates that will make my genealogy research easier.

"Don't waste your $200, or you'll throw away thousands."

I requested a one generation link from OH to VA(WV) in the late 1700's in then Augusta/Pocahontas Co. I was assured that they had 100's of researchers and they would solicit bids, collect them and present them to me. After paying $200 for that and waiting nearly 8 weeks I reached out after hearing nothing. They literally pulled one researcher out of a hat it seems, who didn't live in that region, they claimed she had expertise in OH, but the research was in VA. They wanted over $1500 to create a "Research Plan" without performing any actual research. I had existing research I submitted they must not have reviewed and even told them of 4 target ancestors I needed to confirm or eliminate as potential fathers.
UPDATE: Since your wrote your response, I clearly need an opportunity for rebuttal. You have 1000's of researchers, and found me ONE and only one. I can't imagine there's only 1 researcher who is familiar in VA research. You refused to tell me if the researcher resided in that region where the potential of having to also pay someone travel and perdiem for onsite research could exist. Regarding your response that the $1500 was cost of the research was NOT a miscommunication as I questioned this on the phone with Jeremy: Let me copy and paste your actual quote:
Research plan: Due to the detailed and complex nature of the information provided by the client, the first step of this phase of work will be to create a timeline of the details provided for the subject, his four potential fathers and other family members. These timelines can then be used to strengthen the case for and/or eliminate one or more of the paternal options. Subsequent phase(s) of research can build upon the timelines created in this phase of research. Please note any subsequent phases of research require separate research plans and budgets. It is not possible to accurately estimate the number of research hours that will be necessary. As such, this research is limited to 15 hours. If additional hours are needed to complete there search of the client’s objectives, research will be paused to obtain approval from the client. If research of the outlined objective(s) can be completed in less than 15 hours, any remaining budget will be credited towards a subsequent phase of research.
AGAIN: This proposal clearly states TWICE that this was only a preliminary cost and subsequent research would cost additional money. So yes, it is true. Regarding your response about not duplicating my work, this type of work almost always must be done onsite to find additional info beyond what is already available to an online researcher who is working somewhere other than at the site of the actual work. I have a database of 40K people, I have exhausted online sources. So unless you would like to re-do and re-quote and change the items you spelled out in your written quote, I will tell others that you not being factual and honest in your response to my review. Feel free to contact me offline if you still believe only one person could bid on or satisfactorily complete such a simple project request.

"Always good"

Always good! The lookup used to be good. Much new data was once received.

"Would recommend"

Would recommend. Helpful, attentive and descriptive, delivered the whole thing promised and even more archives we did no longer recognize about. Love it

"I wanted to know where my great…"

I wanted to know where my great grandparents grew up in Germany. I got what I wanted and more. I would use this service again.