Is unlimited bandwidth selling?

It seems that host companies that offer unlimited bandwidth are getting lots of signups?

How do you feel about this?

Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?

Let us know?

Is this a CrAzY risk that host companies take? Knowing they maybe cant provide unlimited bandwidth?

:rolleyes: (Thinking)

Nope would never offer something which I couldnt garentee I could give my client.

People who offert his, in my opinion are wrong and should be shot!

He he he!

Just my thoughts!

Chris

It sells to naieve people who think that there is such a thing as unlimited bandwidth, most of whom are then in for a shock when they sign up and get booted for using 2 much bandwidth

"puggy106" - "shot" :eek:

That's a little extreme aaa

:rolleyes:

he he! do you think! well maybe just a good telling off!

Originally posted by bahres
Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?

Never ever.

The reason is that I would feel very uncomfortable standing behind something which I can not honestly offer.

Unfortunately anybody can set up a hosting package for under $10, which includes unlimited everything... Advertise it like hell on all the hosting directories and maybe some pay per click engines, and they would most likely sign up a huge number of clients in a very short period of time, not to mention make a sizable sum for themselves. I think that's a scam, as they would kick out anybody using more than a couple of gigabytes due to some devious hidden part of their AUP.

People like this are really hurting our sales, but in the long term I think it's much better to operate an honest business. Sure you might take longer to grow, but at the end of the day you will have a business built on honesty, and not lies.

Is Unlimited Bandwidth selling? Yes.....its selling lies.



Jim

I tend to agree with that, Unlimited bandwidth does sell.

But like everyone here knows that there is NO way that you can phyically offer this in reality,

But I think that most people that want sites look for the cheapest possible, with the most bandwidth, which in the long run it's the client that suffers.

And to be honest this forum probably covers about 1% of people looking for hosting and so most would just find sites in search engines and directories and just go with what is being sold on the site, "unlimited bandwidth" it's only when you have been a member of this forum for a while you get to know about this.

Anyway hope I haven't lost anyone with my waffling.

Thanks

Im not defending it but you really could host a site and not limit them by their bandwidth usage at all. If you limited them via # of processes, resource usage etc., then it is very possible to 'not limit' their bandwidth yet still maintain a profitable company. Im sure most hosts here can think of a site they host that pushes 2gb.month that causes more problems than another site they host that pushes 10x that.

-Brendan

I think what everyone is getting at is say you were one of these companies that offered "unlimited b/w" for $5.99/mo etc.

Then the customer has every right to use 100GB b/w without getting shutdown. If they are promised unlimited then the host should be prepared for this situation and honor it.

Anyway thats just one of mine and no doubt others views.

Thanks

Originally posted by HRBrendan
Im not defending it but you really could host a site and not limit them by their bandwidth usage at all. If you limited them via # of processes, resource usage etc., then it is very possible to 'not limit' their bandwidth yet still maintain a profitable company. Im sure most hosts here can think of a site they host that pushes 2gb.month that causes more problems than another site they host that pushes 10x that.

-Brendan

Holy crap!!! Are my eyes seeing this correct???? Someone else thinks it is possible too??? Months of getting flamed, getting called a moron (exaggerating), and now someone else steps up and sees the possibility. :D



PS: Not trying to defend unlimited - far from it.

Hello
I am not at all convinced that there are unlimited hosts getting piles of sign ups.
Right now I am not convinced that there are many hosts getting large numbers of sign ups apart from the large ones with massive advertising budgets......... but I might be wrong.

Gordon

actually there are always going to be customers that signup when they see unlimited...no matter how much you try and tell them theres no such thing...

Originally posted by HRBrendan
Im not defending it but you really could host a site and not limit them by their bandwidth usage at all. If you limited them via # of processes, resource usage etc., then it is very possible to 'not limit' their bandwidth yet still maintain a profitable company. Im sure most hosts here can think of a site they host that pushes 2gb.month that causes more problems than another site they host that pushes 10x that.

-Brendan
And we go through it once again. Look, the poeple who need mass amounts of bandwidth and transfer are generally the first clauses in the hosting TOS. If this was the only limitation in these accounts, then heck, no problem, go with your bad self.

If you're someone who needs large amounts of bandwidth and transfer:

Host photo galleries, wallpaper, images of any sort, gifs, etc.
Software developer/distributor
Video clips, etc.

You are better off choosing a host that gives you a certain amount and charges you for overage. Simply put, this is fantasy hosting, no host can actually offer unlimited/unmetered bandwidth and transfer without limiting the **** out of the account, or getting one customer who uses up everything. If I felt like it could be offered, I'd offer it, and so would everyone else.

The pipe is only so big and the customer is only paying so much. If you happen to have the magical combination that somehow fits within the TOS of an unlimited/unmetered host, then go for it. Otherwise, skip the b.s. and host elsewhere.

Nice one, Thats the best statement I've seen for a long time on this. Straight to the point.

Thanks

You are better off choosing a host that gives you a certain amount and charges you for overage. Simply put, this is fantasy hosting, no host can actually offer unlimited/unmetered bandwidth and transfer without limiting the **** out of the account, or getting one customer who uses up everything. If I felt like it could be offered, I'd offer it, and so would everyone else.

Key point -
If I felt like it could be offered, I'd offer it

You don't feel like you can offer it, so you make sure because you can't, you discourage people away from those who think they can and have. I will not start another long drawn out discussion on unmetered and views about it. It is personal opinion. However, when I see someone posting a negative about it, then I will freely post the opposite and my view unmetered simply means the customer will not get a bill for bandwidth. Who the host limits and what the host uses for limiting factors is their business. It should be in the Terms for any buyer to read however. If it is, then it is up to the customer to decide if it works or not, not for other competitors.

I know very well why many don't offer it. It is kind of hard when you are being billed $3 - $6/GB for BW and your competitor is getting it for $.10/GB.

:)

Look At The Poll

:eek:

WOW

:D

No, I don't feel I can offer it because I can't see the viability in offering the whole pipe to someone who is paying $10-$20/mo. and it doesn't matter if the host is paying $3.00/GB or $0.10/GB. This is long term not short term. This isn't 'hasn't happened yet' hosting (is that registered? :D). I don't offer it solely because it doesn't make sense, not because I pay too much or don't have access to enough pipe to offer it.

I'm small potatoes. If you want the scoop, ask Deb of Futurequest (a past unlimited host), or Steve of tera-byte. He had a colo server plan for a time. No charge for bandwidth, 16 servers on a 10Mbps feed, all you can eat. I asked him about it once as I was thinking of usijng it and he told me honestly that it wasn't working because (surprise!), one or two of the servers hogged the pipe and during peak times the others suffered. I don't think it takes to much to relate it to this discussion and to shared hosting. If anyone can't relate it, fine, just don't start off by saying, "Yeah but those are dedicated servers..." -you've missed the point.

I'm not trying to bash every unlimited/unmetered host out there. From what I've seen, a *high* percentage of these hosts simply mislead people, and they aren't right for the exact reasons you'd need a high bandwidth/transfer host. Thus, pointless for many, but possibly not all.

In no way am I saying that your offer is misleading, as I haven't seen it, or the pages. It may be fine, you might state plainly and clearly what they get, what they can do, what they can't, etc. I don't know.

When it comes down to it, I don't care what anyone offers so long as it is as clear as possible as to what the customer is getting. That's fair right? I offer what I think is fair to me and to my clients. If my cost happened to go up to $3/GB, I'd still be ok. What I don't like is when I see unlimited/unmetered hosts with all sorts of interesting definitions for words such as 'unlimited'. Hey you want to call a duck a 'zebra' -that's fine by me, but I ain't buyin' it. Where I come from, if it leaps and croaks, it's a frog.

To be honest, I didn't vote in your poll as I wasn't quite sure what you were asking...

"Is unlimited bandwidth selling?"

This was the poll question but I'm not exactly sure what that means in order to vote. You ask four questions, and I'd have different answers for them.

Originally posted by bahres
1. Is unlimited bandwidth selling?
2. It seems that host companies that offer unlimited bandwidth are getting lots of signups?
3. Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?
4. Is this a CrAzY risk that host companies take?

I'm small potatoes. If you want the scoop, ask Deb of Futurequest (a past unlimited host), or Steve of tera-byte. He had a colo server plan for a time. No charge for bandwidth, 16 servers on a 10Mbps feed, all you can eat. I asked him about it once as I was thinking of usijng it and he told me honestly that it wasn't working because (surprise!), one or two of the servers hogged the pipe and during peak times the others suffered. I don't think it takes to much to relate it to this discussion and to shared hosting. If anyone can't relate it, fine, just don't start off by saying, "Yeah but those are dedicated servers..." -you've missed the point.

Actually, I call this fair advice. :)

Look At The Poll


WOW


Look at the audience.

When I read "Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?" something comes into my mind:

Would you offer unlimited cash(*) to increase your customer base?
There are always people who will try it.





(*) insert what ever you want

Originally posted by Walter
Would you offer unlimited cash(*) to increase your customer base?
There are always people who will try it.



Here are few who would:
http://www.overture.com/d/search/?type=home&tm=1&Keywords=web+hosting&Find+It%21=Search


Must not click......... must not click .........


Gordon

"Chicken"

The Poll Question is

"Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?"

Its NOT

"Is unlimited bandwidth selling?"

I hope you vote now !

:)

Wouldn't that be false advertising though?

I know it's nice to increase your customer database, but if you can't give what you offer then your customer database will drop.

That's just my opinion though

Two different questions were asked.

Is unlimited bandwidth selling?
Yes, it's selling to naive and uninformed newbies out there.

Would you offer unlimited bandwidth to increase your customer base?
No, unless I actually had unlimited bandwidth, which I don't, and even if I did, nobody would believe me anyway.

Originally posted by GordonH
I am not at all convinced that there are unlimited hosts getting piles of sign ups.

Unfortunately, they're doing this on eBay. They are Donhost resellers who sell 100's of accounts at ridiculously low prices offering unlimited everything. Then Donhost eventually puts them out of business for *shock* actually trying to use the Donhost resources that they paid for. All their users lose. The web hosting industry gets a bad name. And the resellers probably go on reselling under another eBay username.

I consider it a real scandal. :(

Just my $0.02


Keith

"4solutions"

100% TRUE

;)

The reason they can get away with it is this:

Offer unlimited for $5 a month:

500 people sign up. 475 people use little bandwidth (they would like to use more, but darnit the internet is a big place -- and their plan of being the next /. is just not working out...) -- however the bandwidth that they use is around 5-100 megs a month.

25 people sign up to reduce costs for an already popular site, or to mirror popular content.....The gigs flow a plenty for about 2 weeks....Account gets cancelled.

Host ends up with 475 people still paying $5 a month and thinking they are getting a good deal. 25 people are pissed and vent in places like this....yet the host is still making money.

Kind of like an all you can eat buffet.....I usually have big plans to really eat my money's worth -- but after a salad and breadstick or two -- my plans of full frontal assault on the rest of the buffet start to fade....Thus I ended up paying $12.95 for a little more than a $5.00 soup and salad deal. (this is a big enough majority that they can deal with kicking out a few 400 pound pros who show up with a paperback and their own utensils.....)

The people I feel sorriest for are those who sign up for unlimited and get booted after 3 or 4 gigs per month. However, even a host that says I get 10 gigs a month may consider booting me if I come in at 9.95 gigs every month.... Raise your hand if you would not be hurting if every host on your box used 100% of their allocated resources....I have seen good hosts that cram 450 sites on a machine.....Times that by your standard 5 Gigs / 250 Megs HD....

I for one DO NOT support unlimited anything.....If it is to good to be true -- it is!! (you may not know it until your site gets popular....but once you start pushing 100%+ resources -- then come back here and tell me what bargain hosts are the real deal!!!)



25 people have sights that attract attention

So the dilemma is, be dishonest and get rich quick or be honest and take the time to build a good reputation? ;) Is offering 50 GB of bandwidth for $1 per year more or less dishonest than offering unlimited bandwidth for $1 per year? Either way, it's false advertising. Just something to think about.

Originally posted by ToastyX
So the dilemma is, be dishonest and get rich quick or be honest and take the time to build a good reputation? ;) Is offering 50 GB of bandwidth for $1 per year more or less dishonest than offering unlimited bandwidth for $1 per year? Either way, it's false advertising. Just something to think about.

I agree!!!

I think it is selling!

Buts to much a CrAzy risk!

;)

umm i think i have a simple answer to the question is unlimited bandwidth selling :)
..
only to the truly gullible and slow of mind :)


you cant sell what simply cannot exist. unmetered can exist and is fair game if you know what your playing with i.e. the pipe and contention ratio.

yep its selling, and selling well..........I actually got into an argument with a guy at another board, as he was claiming that unlimited bandwidth is possible because bandwidth is free..............so whatever.............

bandwidth is NOT free:angry:

mwahhhh im not sure if that would make me happy or suicidal

unlimited bandwidth is do sales ..

specialy with low-cost host

simply customers dont know what 2gb/mo do ... much more, customer dont know which better 2gb/mo or 2000mb/mo :)


i think the better solution is to give unlimited bandwidth under terms of

no downloads
no forums
no real media
no ...
no ...
no ...

sorry all but if you give same rules (NOs) and give 10gb/mo or 20fb/mo you will lose the "unlimited" sales

Hello
This discussion seems to be turning towards the practice of overselling rather than the unlimited issue.

So what you are saying is that with our 20MB $7.95 hosting with 2GB transfer per month we should be charging more than $12 per month for it if we pay $6 per GB for bandwidth?

How exactly would that improve sales or make money?
Only a very small percentage of customers (0.0001% I would guess) would see this as honesty and be willing to pay the extra.
I imagine that sales would collapse, but if Hostsave and all the other big players in that price range up their prices I am prepared to give it a go :)

Also I don't know of any hosts who bump sites off for using the bandwidth allocation they are contracted to provide as part of their TOS.
If hosts are doing that then they need to either:
[list=1]
Learn to take the rough with the smooth.
Increase prices to make it profitable.
[/list=1]

I don't really see the harm in overselling as when someone starts using their 2GB per month in full they will want to upgrade anyway.

Gordon

gordon for starters donhost bump you for using about 20GB of the 50GB they selling you. Fashhosts will bump you once you start annoying them. theyre an unlimited effort as well.

unlimited. by morons for morons.

Mmm
Donhosts plans are not unlimited.
Donhost advertise 20GB (for their reseller plans) and they also quote a price for overage so presumably someone going over would actually make them money?

Fasthosts is unlimited and therefore not the same thing.

Gordon

I imagine that sales would collapse, but if Hostsave and all the other big players in that price range up their prices I am prepared to give it a go

Jump in. Because Hostsave (owned by Affinity) raised the rate from $6.95 to $7.95. :)

Well
Actually the annual cost works out the same, they just killed or reduced the set up fee.

Gordon

Originally posted by GordonH
Mmm
Donhosts plans are not unlimited.
Donhost advertise 20GB (for their reseller plans) and they also quote a price for overage so presumably someone going over would actually make them money?

Fasthosts is unlimited and therefore not the same thing.

Gordon

Donhost's reseller plans advertise "50,000MB Monthly Data Transfer," but they don't allow anybody to actually use 50,000 MB of bandwidth.

sorry if my post was a little hard to follow. i will reiterate for those confused.

donhost, 50 GB and they wont let ya get close to 20. Now thats overselling. not to mention incredibly illegal etc etc. that was a comment in regard to the overselling mentioned. oh and to cap it off they offer unlimited HDD space. i know ibm call their coating pixie dust but im sure it aint that magical folks. so donhost fall foul on both overselling and unlimited.


as for fasthosts, as i said by morons for morons. that was in reference to the title of this thread i.e. the unlimited side of things. look at their rep. look at their current legal situation.
how can you possibly sell what cannot exist. if alll the telcos in the universe got together and bought a godly sun server and fitted all the fibre in the universe into the back of it
it still wouldnt be unlimited. man it would be fast. it could even be unmetered if they chose to bill like that. but it wouldnt be unlimited cos whatever bandwidth they install i could require one more mbps and id be limited by their pipes. companies shouldnt use words they cannot understand.

Hello
On this page:
http://www.donhost.com/products/resellerwindows.html

It says 20,000MB

Gordon

Your right, Gordon :)

It looks like 20 GB for Windows hosting and 50 GB for Unix at
http://www.donhost.com/products/resellerunix.html


Keith

OOppps... GB not MB

More like 10GB then cutoff "damn wheres my sites gone"

Yes gordon but if you read the linux reseller plan its 50 GB. im not lieing and i do check my facts. The windows reseller plan is a newer addition to their product range and has less bandwidth for more money, probably in response to the effect the 50GB has had.

Perhaps these "unlimited" companies should take a lesson from Amex and advertise
"No preset limits" ;)

Thank God, Amex didn't have unlimited spending limits when I was married to my
ex-wife :D


Keith

Okay okay we all know is Don Host is a bunch of CRAP but what i can't believe is the amount of people saying yes they would offer unlimited bandwidth to get more customers............... THAT IS JUST WRONG

I will say that the general population will fall for it.
They will think unlimited bandwidth is very yummy.
Little do they know that there is no such thing as Unlim Bandwidth.
For seasoned guys like us, we can of course look at it and say ' Yeah Right, Unlim Bandwidth my foot. ' but believe it or not many people still fall for it. Im not trying to defame readyhosting but look at them. They are offering unlimited bandwidth and they are doing damn well.

Originally posted by tazd9t9
It sells to naieve people who think that there is such a thing as unlimited bandwidth, most of whom are then in for a shock when they sign up and get booted for using 2 much bandwidth

Yes it sells, but they don't stay very long either... so in the end I think it just evens out.

I'd rather have 100 clients stay 12 months than 200 clients who stay only 6 months. Less headaches for me.