Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ – Pricing, Billing, and Payment
Have a question not covered here? Contact us at finance@seqcenter.com for all billing related questions.
We require that a valid payment method be on file with us before we can begin to process samples. Orders received without a valid payment method will be temporarily held or returned to sender without processing.
SeqCenter does not make shipping arrangements for sample submission. Cost estimates must be provided by your courier of choice.
We can accept a valid Purchase Order (PO), a credit card with an applied 3.3% credit card fee, or a bank transfer with an applicable $20 wire transfer fee per payment processing.
DNA sequencing costs vary greatly depending on the platform and amount of data requested. Whole genome sequencing costs start at $65/sample. We encourage customers to browse all options on our website and reach out to us directly with any questions regarding selecting the appropriate service for your budget & research needs.
Unfortunately, we do not offer academic or new customer discounts. We implement methods that allow us to offer some of the lowest prices in the industry. Instead of offering occasional discounts, we take pride in keeping our prices as low as possible throughout the year to make sequencing consistently accessible to all researchers and budgets.
For most pipelines, we offer convenient, affordable per-sample pricing that applies regardless of batch size, due to aggregation. However, batches of 48+ samples for select pipelines qualify for a 5% bulk discount from the quoted price. This discount is automatically applied to quotes generated through the website.
Very large sequencing batches (100+ samples) may qualify for additional savings. Please contact SeqCenter directly to inquire about pricing for expected large batches.
We would be happy to take care of any paperwork needed to become a registered vendor with your institution. Please direct paperwork to finance@seqcenter.com.
If you have a current order that will be affected by the registration, please contact us with the order number as well.
We price projects based on platform and chemistry chosen, read length and depth/coverage requested, number of samples (run multiplexing), library prep complexity or custom protocols, special handling (HMW DNA, dry ice, regulated samples), and any downstream analysis or custom bioinformatics.
We charge failed‑sample fees in certain contexts: for example, there are specific failed‑prep fees for some Illumina services (illustrative examples include modest fees for failed WGS preps and higher fees for underperforming RNA preps when the customer declines the data); we also attempt re‑preps when feasible and will contact you about options before proceeding.
POs are issued by a customer’s institution as a formal agreement to request specific quantities and types of services from SeqCenter and are a promise to pay for the services at the prices listed on the quote. Funds are only transferred when a formal invoice is submitted. For a customer’s institution, these also specify which funds or account are being used to pay. For SeqCenter, these are required for us to request payment when submitting an invoice after work is done. (Without a PO, we will not be paid.)
If SeqCenter has not done business with your institution before, we may be required to register as a vendor before a PO can be issued.
We accept valid Purchase Orders (PO) issued by your institution or credit card payments. There is a 3.3% processing fee for credit card transactions and a $20 wire transfer fee for international wire transfer payments.
When you entered your credit card information through our online ordering system, an authorization was run, and a temporary hold was placed on your card in the amount that was quoted, plus a 3.3% processing fee.
This hold expires after 27 days or until we capture the funds. We do not capture funds until we invoice, which is done after we complete your order and deliver your data. At this time, an invoice/receipt is emailed to the billing contact as well as to the person who placed the order.
You will receive your invoice within 2 business days of completion of your order and delivery of your data. If you require an invoice in a specific timeframe, please send a request to finance@seqcenter.com. We are happy to discuss your funding deadline and accommodations we may be able to make.
The bulk discount is meant to incentivize large shipments, which allow us to fill out sequencing runs more quickly. This allows us to deliver data to all customers even faster, and as such, we like to pass on the small discount to large volume shipments as a “thank you.”
