What Do You Think About Setup Fees?

Are setup fees overrated?

Would you pay a setup fee on a virtual hosting account?

Are setup fees necessary in the hosting industry? When? or When Not?

Have you ever paid a setup fee and regretted it?

Express what you feel on this issue!

:)

Haven't voted because I've got to 'sit on the fence' a bit on this one.
I think that set-up fees are like many other aspects of hosting - they're 'market driven'. Personally I don't like them - but often read justifiable reason from other hosts for having them (hence the fence)

This poll has already been once..
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25056

As an example, I think most customers would rather pay $1 extra per month for hosting in the first year than pay $12 setup fee. Same money, just a psychological thing.

"vito" - Thats true! I never really thought of it that way!

;)

"Mr. Amazon" - THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Generally I don't like setup fees, especially with virtual hosting accounts. But I have voted for 'depends' as sometimes there is a justifiable reason why the host would charge such a fee. I mean, control panels, IP's etc. have to be payed.

With dedicated hosting I think it's quite a different matter. The host has to set up the server (which takes time), control panel licences may have to be payed for (think of Rackshack and their unlimited Ensim licences etc.), this costs money, and if the client decides to leave to hosting company before the first month is up, where does it leave the host then? They have to resell the server, if they can, and the server might be sitting there doing nothing for a while and just loosing money.

In short, I just can't say yes or no, I'd have to look at it case by case. I don't mind paying a setup fee, as long as it is justifiable.

Generally, no, unless the account includes something such as a domain name.

As a host, while we don't charge setup fees, I think they can be justified because new customers usually use much more support.

For example, a new customer might use up to 3 hours of support in their first month if we need to help them install custom scripts, or assist in moving/updating a domain name, MySQL databases, and so on.

Personally when I'm purchasing a hosting related product, I think it depends entirely on the offering.

"Mee Too" - Generally I don't like setup fees!

:uzi: = Setup Fee

I don't know why but to me it seems that shoppers are not familiar with calculators. So even if you have a better deal with setup can be a turn off.

"Free Setup" seems to be very attractive. So even if you do not charge setup, _always_ mention that! :D

I chose 'depends', since it depends... :D

No seriously: for virtual hosting accounts I say NO (unless; as earlier stated by others, a domain, dedicated IP etc. is included)
But if we're talking about Dedicated Servers and Colocation, I believe there are good reasons to ask setup fees to customers.
I'm not saying they ain't (too) expensive sometimes (RackShack eg.)... ;)

Personally, I feel that setup fees are a justifiable way to recoup some of the costs associated with the setting up of the account and then the usual problems in the first month. However, we have found that our customers *will not* pay setup fees, so we have done away with them.

I've said it bofore, but I like to say it occasionally... I'm not a commercial hosting provider, I provide hosting services as a hobby for friends and family. Having said that ....


I don't look at set-up fees in a one size fits all manner.

For example, if there is a set-up fee for a reasonably simple shared hosting environment, then I would look at that hosting provider askance. The provider probably has customer-retention difficulties, and tries to recoup set-up costs up front, rather than via the long-term retention of customers via quality service and support. Up front costs to bring a new customer online should be a part of the business model's monthly fees.

Ditto for a simple colo server. I just sent a server to Tera-Byte for their plan B colo, and there was no set-up charge. It was a simple put the server in the rack type of thing.

On the other hand, with a dedicated server, the up front resources needed to build a custom server can be significant. A set up fee there would not be unwarranted.

It depends.... It is definitely a case by case thing.

I really would not pay a setup fee to signup for an account for a virtual package!

That just me



;)

I will not pay for setup fees on any kind of hosting. Sometimes paying on a dedicated server is understandable ..if the fee is reasonable. I have however been bitten too hard too many times, and several setup fees and unstatisfied services later, I have made up my mind to always look for where there is none.

I refuse to pay setup fees for a virtual account and will not be a client of a hosting company that charges them. End of story!

The people who voted yes are properly the host who do offer setup fees on virtual accounts?


:confused:

Virtual accounts? No. I would rather not pay setup fee.
Dedicated server? Yes, understandable and I will pay for it, no more than US $200 fee.

It is odd, but as klisis said, most people wouldn't even think twice about a set up fee for a server (of $200 or more), but when they are sharing the server, they wouldn't feel comfortable paying a $10-$20 set up fee. I don't know why, but I think it is a common feeling (I'm not picking on you klisis).

If one would pay $200-$400+ for a dedicated set up fee, you'd think customers would understand that they are leasing part of a server and with that comes part of the set up fee. They don't.

I think you'll find that a person with a site, one that will be hosted about a year, would rather pay $13.99 for a plan than $12 plus a $25 set up fee. Over the course of a year, the cost would be nearly identical.

On the flip side, it seems a rather large number of people are willing to pay for the full year's fees up front in order to shave off a few bucks. So I really don't exactly get the exact mentality of it all, and I'm not sure if I personally have enough data on the subject but maybe I'll start a poll :D

I've noticed that by charging a setup fee, you get FAR less refunds or cancellations..