Hey everyone,

Does anyone know where I can get a reliable, transparent, autonomous reseller account that can integrate with my current web site and has a good control panel? I am thinking about starting a small web hosting company that would require almost no maintenance on my part (other than tech support, unless that could even be handled by the main company?). I want to offer these services to family, friends, and people at school and in the community, and I don't need to make that much money off of it, although the more the better. ;-)

Ideally, an end user would go to my web site, sign up for a web hosting account, have their credit card processed by the actual hosting company or another third-party company (since I don't have a merchant account), and I get some sort of commission (percentage or the difference between the price that I charge and the price that I get). Also, the end user would have no idea that I am not actually the web host, even if they were somewhat technically savvy.

And giving me the option to have resellers of my own is a plus, although definitely not required. Another plus would be cheaper monthly fees, or not forcing me to buy expensive bulk quantities of web space and bandwidth in advance. I really want to provide these services as a service, not necessarily for mass profit.

I know that it's asking quite a bit, and there may not be such a great company around. Is there such a reseller account that fits most or all of these guidelines? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
-Brent

Originally posted by Brent
[B]Hey everyone,Ideally, an end user would go to my web site, sign up for a web hosting account, have their credit card processed by the actual hosting company or another third-party company (since I don't have a merchant account), and I get some sort of commission (percentage or the difference between the price that I charge and the price that I get).
If you get a reseller account, you look after sales, billing [ http://revecom.com ] and support. Your supplier gives you access to their servers.
Also, the end user would have no idea that I am not actually the web host, even if they were somewhat technically savvy.
Pretty hard to hide from someone who's real "technically savvy". They'll trace you, google you and eventually find your supplier. 99% of your clients won't know of your upstream supply, nor do they really care. Just as long as they're getting good value for money and you're treating them well, they'll be happy as Larry. :)
And giving me the option to have resellers of my own is a plus, although definitely not required.
That's only done by reselling your upstream's "reseller plans". Your client signs up with you - you then pay for another account from your supplier - you then email your client with that account's details. You get paid by your client and support your client etc..
Another plus would be cheaper monthly fees, or not forcing me to buy expensive bulk quantities of web space and bandwidth in advance. I really want to provide these services as a service, not necessarily for mass profit.
Most reseller plans start at $20 - $35/mth, depending on the resources and quality of servers/datacenter etc.
I know that it's asking quite a bit, and there may not be such a great company around. Is there such a reseller account that fits most or all of these guidelines? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
There are a fair few around these parts that can service your exact needs. Scour through the Reseller forum here and make a list of 5 choices. Then search your choices (http://webhostingtalk.com/search.php?s=) and see what pops up. You could also ask the folks here what they think of your list and get their feedback from your supplier's experiences. You could also post a Request into the Request Forum (http://webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=32) and see what pops up.

There's plenty of options here and plenty of value too. :)

Hey,

I was reading over this post: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=69554 , and that sounds cheap for what it gives. If one has Cpanel, hard drive space, bandwidth, nameservers, and a shell account, how is that different than a dedicated server? And what would one do with this to create a web hosting company? I'm kinda new to this whole thing, and I would really appreciate a quick explanation.

Thanks
-Brent

Brent

A dedicated server is your own personal server, whereas an account like you describe would be on a shared server with several (probably at least 40 or more) other accounts of similar size.

With a reseller package you can start your own small web hosting operation and sell web hosting to your clients or the general public.

You can certainly do this with a dedicated server as well, however the capital outlay required is a lot higher and you would need to do all your own server upgrades, management and monitoring.

If you new to the business and just starting out i would reccommend that you team up with a good reliable reseller provider, and grow from there...

Hey,

Are there any plans where the main hosting company processes the payment from the end user and pays me a percentage or the difference in price between their price and mine, so that I don't need to deal with this aspect?

Thanks
-Brent

Originally posted by Brent
Hey,

Are there any plans where the main hosting company processes the payment from the end user and pays me a percentage or the difference in price between their price and mine, so that I don't need to deal with this aspect?

Thanks
-Brent
That's more of a referral program. Sounds like that's what's more suited to yourself etc...

Originally posted by Brent
Hey,

I was reading over this post: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=69554 , and that sounds cheap for what it gives. If one has Cpanel, hard drive space, bandwidth, nameservers, and a shell account, how is that different than a dedicated server? And what would one do with this to create a web hosting company? I'm kinda new to this whole thing, and I would really appreciate a quick explanation.

Thanks
-Brent

$10 a month is too low for a reseller package, if you are looking for a quality solution with a good company. As Bob stated - $20 / month upwards would be the price range to look at.

With regard to your question on how to create a web hosting company - there is no definitive answer. There are, however, some requirements that would certainly make it easier:
- good understanding of business concepts, and generally business savy
- willingness to learn, research, and admit that you're wrong
- the realisation that web hosting is not an overnight get rich quick scheme

The best advice I can give you is to spend a lot of time reading on these forums, there are some very succesful hosts that reside here, along with some bigger companies which provide a good example too. Learn from others mistakes, and note what they do right.

Regards
Matt

Originally posted by voxtreme-matt
- the realisation that web hosting is not an overnight get rich quick scheme
It's not? :eek: :bawling:

willingness to learn, research, and admit that you're wrong
You are wrong Matt, just admit it :D



quote:
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Originally posted by voxtreme-matt
- the realisation that web hosting is not an overnight get rich quick scheme
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It's not? :bawling: :bawling:
:rolleyes:

its not? :(
oh yeah its not....:bawling: