I'm an eNom reseller using their PDQ site to sell domain names. This means that eNom bills the customer, not me.

I've been thinking about using their API instead of the PDQ site, then selling hosting service along with the domain names... but I'm concerned about billing.

Hard hard is it to bill your own customers? What is involved, exactly?

How hard is it to get a merchant account all set up?

Etc., etc.

Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks! :)

I would not mess with billing your customers for domains. Its not worth it, in my opinion. We used to deal with that for the 2000-ish domains we had with eNom and it is far better just to let eNom handle it. If eNom handles it, you don't have to deal with chargebacks (never had one while eNom was in charge), support issues regarding domain payments, etc. Let them deal with it.

To this day, we handle our own hosting billing but we let eNom handle domain billing.

--Tina

I would not mess with billing your customers for domains. Its not worth it, in my opinion. We used to deal with that for the 2000-ish domains we had with eNom and it is far better just to let eNom handle it. If eNom handles it, you don't have to deal with chargebacks (never had one while eNom was in charge), support issues regarding domain payments, etc. Let them deal with it.

To this day, we handle our own hosting billing but we let eNom handle domain billing.

--Tina
Tina... first off, thanks for the info. :)

Secondly, if eNom bills the cust for domains, but you bill for the hosting, how do you integrate that into one seamless ordering process?

In other words, how can I have a site where someone orders a domain name, then (on the next screen?) gets asked about buying hosting, then pays for the whole shebang at the end of the order?

Lastly, do you use eNom's PDQ site, or their API script?

Thanks again.

although you may have to manually register it for the customer, you can use a billing script such as:

Modernbill
clientexec
WHMCS (recommended :P)

Although this goes through the process of
Hosting>select domain(change nameservers only or register through you)>package total + asking for promotion code (should you have one)> registration> payment

although you may have to manually register it for the customer...
eek. That is NOT going to happen. :)

In my case, customers are coming to the site looking to buy a domain name. I want to sell them that domain name (automatically, not manually ;)) then offer hosting to them at the same time. Is this possible??

Yes, the enom API is in-built into most billing scripts, all it takes i *believe* is registering for the enom API and funding the account with at least $100 to get you going, this gets you 97 "enom points" which is $97, enom takes $3 for some reason.

the rest is basically adding your username and password for enom into the billing script and then setting up the small automation settings which are usually well documented and straight forward.

Actually the best software for you to look into is AWBS, this allows a customer to register a domain then add a hosting package to it. Perfect!

Actually the best software for you to look into is AWBS, this allows a customer to register a domain then add a hosting package to it. Perfect!
I'll take a peek... thanks! :)

You could also resell the hosting on a private-label basis, such as:

http://www.brandedreseller.com/

That would keep you out of the billing headaches and hassles.

You could also resell the hosting on a private-label basis, such as:

http://www.brandedreseller.com/

That would keep you out of the billing headaches and hassles.
That's GoDaddy/WildWest, which was my original plan. But I have ZERO control over ANYTHING with that option.

I was hoping to find an alternative to GD/WWD that would provide the same functionality without too many headaches... but to be honest, it hasn't been easy to find. :(

I was hoping to find an alternative to GD/WWD that would provide the same functionality without too many headaches...

Do you mean you want to do the hosting service yourself, or you just want an alternative to GD/WWD? It isn't clear how deep you want to get into hosting.

I'm sure you've probably seen Enom offers hosting, as well as other registrars like ResellerClub.

Do you mean you want to do the hosting service yourself, or you just want an alternative to GD/WWD? It isn't clear how deep you want to get into hosting.

I'm sure you've probably seen Enom offers hosting, as well as other registrars like ResellerClub.
I mean I just want an alternative to GD/WWD. I would rather NOT do the hosting myself, since I don't have the knowledge and would never be able to handle the end-user support.

Enom or ResellerClub would be great, but neither offer end-user support. If they did, I'd be set.

To be honest, the GD/WWD solution is absolutely PERFECT -- if only they allowed a teensy-weensy bit of control. But their program is really more of an affiliate program than a reseller program. I still may end up using them, since it really is perfect... but only after I've exhausted other options.

Netspots,

Take a look at some of the more reputable smaller web hosting firms. They may be willing to partner with you to provide the hosting. You could also post an add in the classifieds section of the forum.

I would do as others have said. I would partner with a good web hosting company that knows what they are doing. Godaddy has some mixed reviews, and I wouldn't want their reputation to pass to you. Another thing too, is that hosting companies are focused on hosting. Godaddy is focused on domains. I know all in one is more convenient but it's not always the best solution.

I'm not sure what you guys mean by "partner" with a hosting company. Can you be more specific?

And do you have any recommendations?

(thanks)

You should also check resellerpanel.com, hostopia.com, bizland.com, mosso.com, bulixhost.com - they all provide end user support - you do not have to do 'anything'.

You should also check resellerpanel.com, hostopia.com, bizland.com, mosso.com, bulixhost.com - they all provide end user support - you do not have to do 'anything'.
Thanks much. I'll take a peek at these guys... but unless I find something to change my mind, it looks like I'll be signing up with GoDaddy/WildWest after all.

i personally dont mess around with selling domain names, but as for billing for hosting accounts, the script my site uses sets up a subscription payment on paypal so the customers money is automatically taken from their account each month. if the payment fails, it trys again 5 times, once every other day and emails the customer each time warning payment hasnt been made. if it fails 5 times their account is susspended. works fine for me :D

i personally dont mess around with selling domain names...
It's my core biz.

At some point (when I learn a bit more) I might branch off and have a "hosting only" biz... but for now I gotta deal with the domain names.

You could also resell the hosting on a private-label basis, such as:

http://www.brandedreseller.com/

That would keep you out of the billing headaches and hassles.


Meehhh.. companies like this are garbage. You won't make any money, and it certainly won't feel like a "real" business when everything is done and set up for you. you don't even get involved in billing or customer service, what kind of business is that?

Believe me, the only people making money off of stuff like brandedreseller.com are the people who own the bank account which receives the money you sent for signing up to their special program.

...it certainly won't feel like a "real" business when everything is done and set up for you.
Yeah, I agree. I was hoping to work on a "real" site myself, one that sells both domain names and hosting. But it doesn't look like it's gonna happen. Heck, even Rameen from InnoHosting suggested that the GoDaddy/WildWest option would probably be better for me. He seemed to very much know what he was talking about, so I respect his opinion.

Believe me, the only people making money off of stuff like brandedreseller.com are the people who own the bank account which receives the money you sent for signing up to their special program.
Well, that's not entirely true. Drive enough traffic to this program and you WILL make money. :)

billing the customers should be the least of your worries
purchase a WHMCS license and let it do all the dirty work:D

purchase a WHMCS license and let it do all the dirty work:D
I had read somewhere that H-Sphere is more "worry free" in that regard. True, or not so true?

We debated about this when we first set our system up. We decided that WHMCS was more flexible than H-Sphere.

We debated about this when we first set our system up. We decided that WHMCS was more flexible than H-Sphere.
Interesting. Thanks.

Have you made a decision?

I use GD/WWD and have mixed feelings about it.

I love being able to sleep at night and not worry about hardware failures.
I hate having little control over personalization.

I use modern bill. I run a cron job and it generates my invoices for me :p

Yes, the enom API is in-built into most billing scripts, all it takes i *believe* is registering for the enom API and funding the account with at least $100 to get you going, this gets you 97 "enom points" which is $97, enom takes $3 for some reason.


TIP: You can avoid the fee by mailing in a check instead of paying by credit card or Pay Pal.