Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting a reseller account but I was wondering this first.

How do I know if a reseller host is the owner of the servers, and not just another reseller overselling to other resellers?

I'm currently looking at site5, Surpass hosting, Varhosting, diyhosting, and hostgator. Any idea if these guys truely have their own servers?

I am looking for a host under $30 to start, around 2gb server and 50gb bandwidth to start, with Cpanel/WHM, and plans available to upgrade to when/if needed (without extra upgrade fees). And of course good uptime, and good response time to tickets.

Later all,
Rob

well, i'm pretty sure that all the hosts you listed have there own servers. And i dont THINK resellers can sell reseller hosting.... sombody please correct me if i'm wrong.

They are ok as far as I know. With their own servers located
in various Data Centers.
How can you know.....well, dig up info :)
Check the DNSes of their domain names, see the IP addresses behind those DNSes, ask questions,
search about reviews around I-net and in this very forum.
Do some reverse DNS tracing, there are a lot of web sites that allows you to do so.
Gather as much as information as you can.

I'm currently looking at site5, Surpass hosting, Varhosting, diyhosting, and hostgator. Any idea if these guys truely have their own servers?I'm not sute what you mean, but most hosts (even from your list there) rent their servers from the datacenters they use. So, technically speaking they don't own them, but that doesn't mean they're necessarily small outfits either. When you talk about tens or hundreds of servers, that's not a small potatoes business. :)

I realize they rent/buy/own space in data centers with many other data center clients. More specifically I mean...how do I know abc host is the main host selling plans to resellers, and not abc host (another reseller) buying space and bandwidth from xyz host and overselling it us.

Or another example; I buy from gatorhost, and devide my space and bandwidth up and resell it as reseller accounts to you. This is the kind of situation I want to avoid. I want to find a true host and not another middleman.

Sorry for not being more clear.

Later,
Rob

Or another example; I buy from gatorhost, and devide my space and bandwidth up and resell it as reseller accounts to you.AFAIK, none of the hosts you've mentioned are subresellers.

In fact, like danny_gilbert noted, few hosts allow their resellers to sell "subreseller" accounts anyway. In other words, with a reseller account from HG, you won't be able to sell reseller accounts, but only end-user accounts.

I hope my post makes sense. :)

So, you are trying to avoid reseller account hosts. Dig up a little and you will find out fast. Some hosts do not have a problem to say they are running from reseller accounts (probably they won't tell who are they reselling from). Anyway, If you really want to avoid middle men there are a few DCs offering shared hosting themselves like Liquid Web. That's no guaranteed quality or better support, they just bought and own the phisical space where the server is located. Most big time hosts rent servers and/or space in some datacente and have full control of the machines. There is nothing wrong with reseller accounts also, as long as their provider is doing a good job. There are a lot of discussions about this subject on this forum and you will find all sorts of opinions here. After all, "there's no best host, only the best host for you". Good luck!

ldcdc,

Your post made perfect sense. Subreseller is the word I should have used.

Thanks.

Thanks everyone else,
Of the hosts I listed above, it seems I should not worry, they seem to all be what I am looking for. Thanks for helping me see that.


I've been reading many posts here and I have narrowed my search down, but now am in kind of a deadlock in a choice.

I like Hostgator--offers what I am looking for in the price range, PLUS the free domain reseller account, WHM billing manager. BUT the negative posts around here are a bit numerous.

I like VARhosting---offers what I am looking for in a cheaper price range, PLUS the end user support (A MAJOR SELLING POINT TO ME). BUT the negative posts around here are VERY numerous. I would have to go with a third-party domain reseller account and pay extra.

I like Site5-----offers what I am looking for in the price range, PLUS the excellent comments about fast support. ClientExec Billing System that I hear is very good. BUT I would have to go with a third-party domain reseller account and pay extra.

Now I can't decide. My perfect choice would be a VARhosting w/ better uptime history, and a free domain reseller option. Maybe they should combine the comapnies into HostVAR5 :roll2:

Seriously though, I think I am leaning towards VARhosting, That end user support is something that is VERY appling to me. I think I might take my chances with them to get that benefit. Unless you can point me to another host that offers branded end user support???


Thanks,
Rob


ps- I know it seem like I'm going pretty fast here, but I have been thinking about this, and lurking the forums for a couple weeks now. I just decided it is time to get something going.

Later.

More specifically I mean...how do I know abc host is the main host selling plans to resellers, and not abc host (another reseller) buying space and bandwidth from xyz host and overselling it us.

If your concern lies around whether you are being sold services that are oversold - take a look at the respective pricing models of the hosts you have listed (and any others you are looking at) - their pricing model is fairly indicative....

As Dan stated, any host that is offering reseller accounts is really running their own business (probably through one of the major data centers) - however, your concern around overselling is a legitimate one - and if its something you are concerned with, you should focus your search on hosts that provide a pricing model which supports the type of environment youre after...

and if its something you are concerned with, you should focus your search on hosts that provide a pricing model which supports the type of environment youre after...CartikaHosting put the dot on the "i". After a certain point in lowering prices, the only solution for the host to still maintain profitability is to pack the servers to the brim, and even beyond that.

Especially when it comes to reseller hosting, one has to be wary of very low priced hosts because:

1. poor performance means you lose your customers
2. you don't want to move your customers from host to host
3. resellers, unlike end users, really do tend to use the space and data transfer they were allocated (even more so if overselling is enabled). This in turn means your provider can't afford to oversell by a significant amount, so prices can't really go under a certain level.

Originally posted by ldcdc
the only solution for the host to still maintain profitability is to pack the servers to the brim, and even beyond that.

Exactly and this is how must companies go bust, especially those offering too good to be true deals. I'd say 1/100 too good to be true hosts last more then a year.

" Especially when it comes to reseller hosting, one has to be wary of very low priced hosts because:

1. poor performance means you lose your customers
2. you don't want to move your customers from host to host
3. resellers, unlike end users, really do tend to use the space and data transfer they were allocated (even more so if overselling is enabled). This in turn means your provider can't afford to oversell by a significant amount, so prices can't really go under a certain level."

Performance and service is what it is all about.

I have to doubt that your ISP owns their own sattelites and fiber routes. Yet they are selling you a service that you use everyday and don't give a second thought to.
Everybody buys from someone else and adds value (hopefully).
The firms that don't add value go down the drain eventually.