I know there are probably quite a few old threads here, but webhosting seems to be changing by the second, so I thought I'd ask here.

We're going through the rejuvenation of our hosting site, and having a good look at our plans. We've worked out that on our server each user can have 5X their storage for data transfer without overselling.

We know that most companies oversell, and we aim to be just as competitive. We wondered if boosting the data transfer by 1/2 of its total without overselling seemed reasonable.

An example:

WITHOUT OVERSELLING - 2GB Storage, 10GB Transfer
WITH OVERSELLING - 2GB Storage, 15GB Transfer

What do you think?

Just a little disclaimer for prospective customers: Overselling transfer can be very postive. It means the people who want a little more can have it - while those who don't have a backup plan.

I think that overselling is the bad way to start. You should be honest with your customers.

Overselling is not dishonesty in my eyes.

We're not going to get ourself into a position where a user who wants resources can't have it. If that even hints on happening we'd obviously starting considering buying another couple of servers. Remember, this is only part of our planning.

If a customer asked, I would tell them. Hell, I'm posting it on a board where we may advertise!

From what I've seen by reading other threads here at WHT, the "optimum" (and I use the term loosely) overselling percentage seems to be somewhere around 10-20%. This allows you to have more flexibility with your plans without really backing yourself into a corner if everyone suddenly decides to use all of their transfer/space.

You need to look at the market you're catering too as well. Small business owners (ie, local businesses just looking to have a web page) probably don't need or care for more space/transfer. To them the best possibly uptime is what they're looking for.

the "optimum" (and I use the term loosely) overselling percentage seems to be somewhere around 10-20%.

I agree. 10-20% over the plan should be fine.

There isn't much dishonesty in overselling since it's all really laid out in the terms - I just find it silly business sense. I'm not naming any names, but a particular company offers a godly amount of bandwidth and storage, yet their target market is people with personal websites.

If you want to oversell - go for it. I don't really think it'll improve any sales though!

An example:

WITHOUT OVERSELLING - 2GB Storage, 10GB Transfer
WITH OVERSELLING - 2GB Storage, 15GB Transfer

What do you think?

Just a little disclaimer for prospective customers: Overselling transfer can be very postive. It means the people who want a little more can have it - while those who don't have a backup plan.

Hi,

That really is up to you but seeing your 2 choices are not much different I would go with the later and offer a bit more as long as you have the resources to do so, and you can always purchase more bandwidth in advance if needed for your server (assuming dedicated or vps) or just upgrade your reseller plans

Cheers

Overselling isn't a bad way to start off to gain customers, but as your domain/company gain popularity the only thing that matters, is reputation and solid support so i would stop at that point. Must people won't use all their resources but then there are people who are resource hogs, just be careful and watch your servers often to figure out whats best for you.

Regards,

OVERSELL!!!


- - - in your 'Terms and Conditions' mention 'if the customer uses 10% of the CPU then alternatives will have to be arranged'...

Be careful or you will end up with an overquota alert and that's nasty for your reputation. But anyway, average users do not use more than 4 GB per month

Did you know that every time someone types "overselling" in a WHT post an angel gets their wings?

Absolutely true.

Damn.. I guess there's a lot of angels with wings then.

Did you know that every time someone types "overselling" in a WHT post an angel gets their wings?

Absolutely true.
Preach it brother. :angel:

Hey, I just got my wings.... err

Oversell away. Just keep an eye on it.

If your looking for a good name, that's not a good idea. Otherwise, go for it. It's your name.