Found them after they started advertising on the ad network my site uses. I'm in need of a new host before the end of the month (to get away from AIT - need I say more?)

These guys have a great looking plan...
400MB space, 15GB Bandwidth for $9.95/mo. (They also have 650/25GB transfer for $25)

I'm a bit worried it's too good to be true? Right now the thing I'm most concerned with after AIT is that I'll get charged outrageous "storage overage" fees for not clearing out logfiles quickly enough. Also, I generally stay under 15GB transfer but sometimes go up to 17 or so so I wouldn't want to be charged like $20/GB or anything. Their terms and conditions only specify they can charge your card for a monthly fee and requested additional storage space (which I'll print out just in case).

But I noticed some less than spectacular posts about their parent company (Interserver). Trying to be objective, has anyone done business with Rackhost.net?

TIA.
Dave
(new here, long time poster at GetHighForums and SearchEngineForums)

Sorry to bump this but it got buried really quickly and I need to make a decision approximitely today ;-) So.... anyone?

I always love host who offer the same package for standard hosting, but charge 3 times as much for adult hosting. Ex..

Adult Hosting-
X Rack (More Info)
650MB Space
20GB bandwidth
300 Email accounts
Sub-Domains
$60.95 a month

Standard Hosting -
650MB Space
25GB bandwidth
Unlimited Email accounts
Unlimited Sub-Domains
$24.95 a month

This tells me one thing. They know that their standard plan is BS and they play numbers games. This is why they charge so much more for the same plan to those who will use the features and bandwidth - like adult sites. It is like having an all you can eat buffet for $9.95. Unless you are over 200 pounds, then it is $29.95.

Send their sales guys this - " I just canceled a dedicated server because I wasn't using all the space. I need your $9.95 plan. I have 380 MB's of files, and use 15 GB's/mo of transfer. Usually a little less. The key thing is that I need over 2000 POP accounts for my members. Since you offer unlimited, I thought it would be a perfect fit. What do you think?" If they say "No problem", then give them a try.

Just what I would do.

Originally posted by UmBillyCord

Send their sales guys this - " I just canceled a dedicated server because I wasn't using all the space. I need your $9.95 plan. I have 380 MB's of files, and use 15 GB's/mo of transfer. Usually a little less. The key thing is that I need over 2000 POP accounts for my members. Since you offer unlimited, I thought it would be a perfect fit. What do you think?" If they say "No problem", then give them a try.



I always love doing this to these unlimited hosts. Especially when they say unlimited bandwidth. sometimes, Ill say that I have this site that uses 15 GIGs of space and over 1500 gigs of bandwidth each month.

The best thing is, most will say...um, thats alot, maybe you should get a dedicated servers

Then ill say, but why, if you guys will do it for $10.00/month?

Most of the time...they will get scared and say they cannot host the site because it would use too many server resources.

Its all complete bull.

Jim

Yes, I avoid unlimited bandwidth sites like the plague...... but this has gotten off topic :-)

The host I'm asking about offers 15GB transefer... not unlimited.

However, I think they've shot themselves in the foot when it comes to my business........ I tried contacting them via LivePerson on their site. They kept me on hold for 40 mins at which point I hung up (the LivePerson) and tried calling. Went to a voicemail. Tried LivePerson again when I got home and kept it in the background (on hold for the next available operator) for an hour before giving up.

If it's that hard to ask a pre-sales question (when they should be anxious to get my money) I don't even want to think about getting support!

Think I might try tera-byte instead after reading some positives on the board...... if I can get them on the phone tomorrow ;-)

Well, I e-mailed tera-byte instead of calling tomorrow.

On the plus side, they replied *very quickly*.
On the minus side, if your log files grow over your storage limit (200MB) your incoming e-mail bounces until you clear the logs. Since logfiles can grow rapidly and I could be out of town unable to clear them, I'd hate to have e-mail bouncing......

So... I ask again if anyone has any opinions on rackhost.net. Is my experience trying to contact them usual or unusual.

Or can anyone recommend another host? I need 15-20 GB transfer and enough storage to hold logfiles for a site that generates that kind of traffic. The site itself is only about 5 Megs. The host must not charge me massive fees for going over the limit unless it at least first notifies me I'm over and gives me the chance to clear the files. (I remember Jumpline used to send a reminder on request when you got to an amount you specified in the control panel). Only other requirement is a personal cgi-bin with the latest (or at least recent) perl modules installed.... Under $20/mo please.....

Thanks!

I used to have that problem with hostpro, but they have an option to email you when it gets low.
Doesnt do any good if your out of town however.
I think UmBillyCord hit the nail on the head with that host you mentioned and would go with another company.

Agreed, Jason.....
But the question is...... who?

There aren't many hosts that can realistically provide 20GB of data transfer for under $20 a month. If you really plan to use that much, and you want a good stable host that'll be around a while and won't screw you along the way, I would consider increasing your $/month requirement to something more along the lines of $40+/month (and that's still pretty darn cheap).

You have to consider that it costs web hosts at bare minimum $1 per GB (usually $2-$5, $1/GB is very rare). So you are looking for a host that will sell you bandwidth and space at or below their actual cost. Even if they buy the bandwidth for $1.50 and resell it at $2.00, they are hardly making any money off that account unless they are selling in massive bulk. Servers and labor aren't cheap. :)

Of course, there are hosts that love to play the bandwidth games, and sometimes it works out for them if they do it carefully. But if they offer 20GB for $20.00 a month and get customers who hold them to their plan limits, they might be in trouble. They will either be forced to close up shop, or kick the offending (!) customer off the server (this is the most likely scenario).

Either way, choose your host carefully. If you don't, you may be posting horror stories here like everyone else...

Well, I could do fine with 15 GB (and pay for overages by the GB) as I've generally been at around 13-15)......

The problem is, with the ad market down the tube (and me running a content site) I can't afford to pay more. I do turn a profit even in the down market (I'm lucky to at least have a good ad network) but it's not much. If I pay all my profits for a host (believe me, I'd love a dedicated so I could grow the site as I was when times were good) then it's not worth it.

I specifically am avoiding unlimited bandwidth sites because I know they don't mean it. But I've seen several offering between 10 and 20 GB for under $20. The problem is finding one of those who won't screw me over ;-) Which includes not shutting off features of my site without warning (as tera-byte says they do) and not billing ridiculous amounts for overages without warning (AIT). as well as responding to sales inquiries ;-)

Well, I could do fine with 15 GB (and pay for overages by the GB) as I've generally been at around 13-15)......
A good rule of thumb to use to gauge a "general" price for what you are looking for is #GB * $3.00. If a host is under that, they may well be able to support it, but be careful and ask lots of questions (especially technical ones). If a host is over that, make sure you get your money's worth in service and uptimes. Again, ask lots of tech/non-tech questions You can't ignore the business model of the hosting company you are choosing. They _must_ make some kind of money somewhere. :) This model, of course, doesn't apply to new startups -- they usually sell very cheap, sometimes at a loss, to attract customers. That's normal.

The problem is, with the ad market down the tube (and me running a content site) I can't afford to pay more. I do turn a profit even in the down market (I'm lucky to at least have a good ad network) but it's not much. If I pay all my profits for a host (believe me, I'd love a dedicated so I could grow the site as I was when times were good) then it's not worth it.
What kind of content site do you run? Are you trying to turn a profit from it or just get enough money to pay for the hosting? Ads these days return very little money. I think the only ads that still bring in decent cash are the adult ads -- and that's because the companies who pay for the ads are pretty rich. :) Porn sells and sells big.

...But I've seen several offering between 10 and 20 GB for under $20. The problem is finding one of those who won't screw me over ;-) Which includes not shutting off features of my site without warning (as tera-byte says they do) and not billing ridiculous amounts for overages without warning (AIT)...
If you read this one carefully, you'll see what I was talking about in my previous post. :) We could offer 15GB for $10 if we 1) didn't care about any profit 2) didn't do tech support 3) didn't monitor the servers 4) had deep pockets. Hosts cut corners a lot to offer rock-bottom prices to attract more customers. It's those corners that bite the customer in the butt in the end.

I'm not saying all hosts who offer rock-bottom prices cut corners, but from the stories I read here and from what my customers tell me, a lot of them do. All I can say is ask a lot of questions from potential hosts. If they get annoyed, look for another host. If they can't answer simple/semi-complex questions, look for another host. If they don't answer your email(s) in a reasonable amount of time (up to you to decide what is reasonable and not), look for another host.

I think I started to ramble, but I hope that helps you out (somewhat).

*nod* I get what you're saying. I've always been told that they can offer 20 GB (for example) because they know X percentage will only ever actually use Y percentage so their average is a Z % used. Make sense?

Generally, once I sign up and get my scripts running, I don't need any support unless the site goes down altogether, so I don't need on-call tech support or anything.

But, yes, the goal is to turn a profit... not just cover hosting. I started the site to make money... it's not for the "love of the game" so to speak ;-) And it's a celebrity information/link site...... to answer your question about type of site...

*nod* I get what you're saying. I've always been told that they can offer 20 GB (for example) because they know X percentage will only ever actually use Y percentage so their average is a Z % used. Make sense?
Sure does. Those are the hosts that play the "bandwidth games" and it seems to work fine. But what happens when they get a few too many customers who will actually use up all the bandwidth? I'm not saying the hosts that do this are bad or anything -- just be careful. :)

Might I suggest Aletia Hosting? They seem to play the bandwidth game too, but I have yet to hear 1 bad thing about them (except for a big downtime they had in the past, but I don't think it was their fault). They have a $29.95 plan for 15GB. I only hear good things about them and their support. Search WHT and you'll find a lot of threads.

Good luck. :)

stay away from cobalt Raq server.

450Mhz 512Mb ram is too slow.

not sure if i am allowed to mention hosts on this one if so plz edit my post.

how about http://technohosts.com ??

i have a resellers account there

Cow