are there any reseller programs out there that
are the type where you buy the plans at a discount and resell them (i.e. = I buy plan A for $5/month and sell it to my customer for $8/month) that do not require you to purchase an expensive web hosting package with the host first or pay a "conversion" fee to make your plan a reseller plan ?

We were just with Gemstream...but depending on what you meant by expensive, they might not be for you.

You paid $30 to host your own website and the right to be a reseller. You then got discounted packages something like this:

reg discount
$8.95 $6.00
$15.95 $8.00
$19.95 $14.00

They are extremely reliable...we were with them for 3-4 months and 0 downtime. Their support is average...you'll get an informative response usually within a day. But be prepared for bandwidth charges...$10 for 1GB extra. They themselves are an Alabanza reseller so bandwidth prices are high with them...but you do get the Alabanza control panel which is decent.

Anyways...I dunno if that helps you out or not...but that's my 2 cents.

Just go sign-up with Hosting Matters (http://hostmatters.com) and be done with it. They're about as good as that type of reseller program gets; and have been referred to as "the gold standard" for virtual hosting companies. The quality, speed and responsiveness of support will leave you in awe.

Originally posted by DesElms
Just go sign-up with Hosting Matters (http://hostmatters.com) and be done with it. They're about as good as that type of reseller program gets; and have been referred to as "the gold standard" for virtual hosting companies. The quality, speed and responsiveness of support will leave you in awe.

That is the kind I am not interested in.. you pay $20 a month then pay extra for every account. I would be better off buying a bulk account somewhere for $20 and moving up to a higher plan if I ever sold out my bw/storage on that plan.

I was wondering if there are any that are either free or $5 a month or less.

Originally posted by freew
That is the kind I am not interested in.. you pay $20 a month then pay extra for every account. I would be better off buying a bulk account somewhere for $20 and moving up to a higher plan if I ever sold out my bw/storage on that plan.

I was wondering if there are any that are either free or $5 a month or less.
Maybe I should have explained myself...

As we are seeing in thread after thread after thread in these forums, the old adage "you get what you pay for" is truer than ever. What you are asking for is probably not reasonable. If you rely on these forums to teach you that, then in a week or so you'll have learned it. Then you'll raise your sights a bit and you'll start looking for more conventional hosting providers who are, nevertheless, dirt cheap. And you'll get a few recommendations and maybe you'll sign-up with one. Then in a few months you'll go through something like what Cyberwings customers have been going through lately (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=61019) and then, having raised your sights once again you'll be back here asking similar questions about not-so-cheap reseller programs and then someone will recommend Hosting Matters (http://hostmatters.com) and you'll end-up there anyway.

So why not cut to the chase and do it now and save yourself all that cruel life experience?

It never ceases to amaze me how people can witness in these forums all those who touched the hot burner and recoiled in pain, yet didn't seem to learn anything from it. When I see a guy do something stupid and get hurt by it, my little, "Okay... so... don't do that... got it" light comes on.

Learn from others' experiences. You'll live longer.

Originally posted by DesElms

It never ceases to amaze me how people can witness in these forums all those who touched the hot burner and recoiled in pain, yet didn't seem to learn anything from it. When I see a guy do something stupid and get hurt by it, my little, "Okay... so... don't do that... got it" light comes on.

Learn from others' experiences. You'll live longer.

:laugh:
Well put!!!!

I don't quite follow you. First you say
(i.e. = I buy plan A for $5/month and sell it to my customer for $8/month)
Which looks reasonable, and sounds to me like you expect to pay more for each client you have, but then you say
That is the kind I am not interested in.. you pay $20 a month then pay extra for every account.
and then have the nerve to say
I was wondering if there are any that are either free or $5 a month or less
Free? or $5? What the heck? How do you expect your host to stay in business giving away hosting to resellers? Look at the hosting companys that have free webspace now. They suck, have almost no features, or support, and they are still going out of business left and right.
You are going to give yourself a bad name in this business if you go with some thing really cheap and they screw up.
What would you tell your customers if your chosen provider drops off the planet? Would you just lie like the others do?
Or do you intend on chosing a provider that will have good features and support that will make you look good?
You have to ask yourself "Whats your reputation worth?" and "How long to you intend on staying in business?"