Does this $50 setup not account for anything? I mean, can you not use that as a prepayment for domains? Or does that $50 just go to stargate for getting you a reseller account?

I think it is just a setup fee that does not apply to your domain account. Try contacting their sales dept., maybe they can waive the cost. Can't hurt to ask. :)

Eck nevermind, I just realized I can use their API only under a Windows environment.