Hello,

Been doing research to get myself up to speed on the top resellers. I'm looking for ones that offer a nice amount of resources and features, rock solid support (having a forum is a big plus), reputation and reliablity.

After hitting these forums and several others I've narrowed down my list. I'd like to get peoples opinions on these hosts. I'm not saying that this is the complete list of all the GOOD resellers just the ones I've selected that best fit my needs. I'm not including VPS accounts b/c I've had problems with VPS hosts and some scripts before.

Here are my finalists in no particular order

Resellerzoom
Dotable
Hostgater
Sonet7

I just signed up with Sonet7 so I'm in no position to give a full recommendation. However, as far as the signup process and support goes it's been cake thus far. The phone support is nice as well. They answer within 30 seconds or less. It's nice to talk to a human being sometimes.

All the mentioned look good. It would have to depend on what exact requirements a buyer has. Maybe you can add a few more to the list.

@premium20: I'm open to suggestions if you want to make some.

Mostly I wanted to look for resellers that have a current solid rep, preferably ones that have a solid long term track record. Its not so important if one host provides 4GB vs another that provides 5GB of disk space just that the resources were reasonable for the cost (same with transfer). Having said that I really would like a minimum of 4GB disk space. I really prefer hosts that provide a Forum for their customers since I think alot of information can be found there. I like to search forums and look for solutions myself first rather then tie up resources on a problem that has been solved a million times before. But if they have a well developed help desk and excellent response times I can live without a forum.

I do not plan on hosting a ton of domains so a domain limit (if reasonable) is fine. I'm not an expert on overselling and even after researching the subject I haven't made up my mind on the topic (I don't mean a host that oversells their server I want to avoid that). I do like to be able to really use all the resources of an account I just want to avoid an over extended server (yep want to have my cake and eat it too!).

Just based on Aussie Bob's rep Dotable would be right at the top of my list if it wasn't for the 2GB disk space limit.

I am using Resellerzoom for a year and a half now. No problems (in general). Today I had a problem and found out that they do not support "chat" for the budget accounts, only email support. (Forget telephone support...). I send them an email several hours ago and still didn't hear from them. Luckily my problem is not an emergency, but if it was?
I am now searching for a host with telephone support.

I am currently with RZ and I submitted two questions (separately) to them today. One question was technical the other was not. The non-technical question was answered right away. The technical question has been escalated (To whom I have no idea) according to the helpdesk panel. It has been a couple of hours and it has not been answered. Neither question is a high priority question so it is possible the technical staff may be busy this morning?

Don't take this the wrong way I am not complaining about not having my question answered right away. It is not important that I know the answer ASAP. I am just stating what is happening with my tickets today.

Did you submit your ticket to Customer Service or to Technical Support? I have been told by a Customer Service person that if you submit a ticket to Customer Service and it requires input or an answer from a Technical Support person then it can take longer to get answered. I guess it is going through multiple channels and possibly the Technical Support queue gets taken care of before the Customer Service does. Not sure exactly but that is the feeling I got from the Customer Service person I chatted with.

...Did you submit your ticket to Customer Service or to Technical Support? I have been told by a Customer Service person that if you submit a ticket to Customer Service and it requires input or an answer from a Technical Support person then it can take longer to get answered. ....
I was aware of that - I sent the email to Tech Support.
Update: Just received a reply...

Just to clarify my current thinking on this list:

- Resellerzoom
Top choice based on overall rep and features to price ratio, excellent features to price. Only nagging concern is recent (?) reports that I've seen of slow support response times. Has support forums (which I really prefer since I've found them to be a great self-help resource), SSH, end user support, etc... all nice bonuses.

- Dotable
Relatively new but with AussieBob at the helm this is not a concern. Good features to price. Just based on his past history this would be my overall favorite but I need at least 4GB of disk space. Getting there with Dotable just puts me over my budget. Does have forum, raid and 5IPs as bonus.

- Hostgater
Great rep and very good resources to price. Very good features to price, has support forums and nice history. Right now what I'm leaning too.

- Sonet7
Relatively new from what I can see but excellent backing (liquidweb) so that should not be an issue. Best price and excellent features, does limit to 50 domains but not an issue for me. Does not supply support forum and several inquiries (from their website) have gone unanswered.

I'll keep it simple ;)
if you plan to have european costumers, take RZ best pings for european costumers since their servers are located at NAC (new jersey)

hostgator is with theplanet I think
dotable is in CA (that's very far for european costumers)

sonet5.. I don't know where they are located.


just a tip ;)

......does limit to 50 domains but not an issue for me. .......

I think this is very good. Indicates they are prepared to restrict resellers from excessive overselling. I think this will enable them to have greater control over each server.

The issue of overselling has been discussed before. I personally think 'responsible overselling' is essential to the business. Sonet7 would do great to come clean and state the number of domains they allow for each server. that would place great amount of credibility on their offering.

I have a reseller account with Sonet7 and presently my server has a .24 load (it has been in this range since I opened my account in January). Uptime is superb and excellent customer service is provide by the staff at Liquid Web. I could not be happier with their service.

Although I have voted for Hostgator, I'd like also to try Sonet7 - it is very important that the support staff has physical access to the machines...

We have a vps with LiquiedWeb and the few times I have contacted their support their replies were quick and helpful.

On the other side Hostgator runs a very solid business, I am pretty much happy with the uptime and the support for almost 2 years now...

I'm currently with Dotable and I'm going to sign up with Sonet7 and Resellerzoom. I'll keep each for a month or two until I get an idea of which offering I like best. I'll host a few sites on each and go from there.

Thank you all for your input. I'll post more when I make my decision.