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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    34

    Hostable is offering 3 year free unlimitted hosting, how it possible?

    Hi friends,

    I've just registered 3 year unlimited hosting for $0.99 at hostable.com

    I paid by Paypal.

    The paypal invoice is to Brinkster, that means hostable belongs to a big company.

    I've chatted with them and they said after 3 year I can cancel my account without any problem, even no fee for cancelling.

    Visitor
    After three year, may I cancel my account
    Cameron
    yes that is no problem. there is no cancellation fees for this as well
    Visitor
    This mean it is not obligated to continue with the second billing
    Cameron
    correct
    What do you think about this offer? Is it reliable?
    Domain coupons collection @ LuckyReg.com

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    1,800
    Do you really need to ask?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Posts
    34
    Quote Originally Posted by WickedFactor View Post
    Do you really need to ask?
    Yes I do my friend
    Domain coupons collection @ LuckyReg.com

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    I'm Lost...Help
    Posts
    895
    Oh, please be sure to update us down the road on how this experience works out for you. This offer is full of red flags and I assume they have to be overselling by the masses. Otherwise there is no money to be made on that offer and I would guess they are losing money.
    Last edited by Kevin K; 03-22-2011 at 03:07 PM.
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Canada
    Posts
    9,072
    1&1 gave away 3 years of hosting + free domain many years ago... worked out very nicely for them! Not all of these offers are bad or suspect if you go into it with low expectations. :]
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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2001
    Posts
    4,028
    Quote Originally Posted by Patrick View Post
    1&1 gave away 3 years of hosting + free domain many years ago... worked out very nicely for them! Not all of these offers are bad or suspect if you go into it with low expectations. :]
    I was just thinking this myself. Yes, for many of us the experience would be equal to painting a barn with a toothpick but for new users, it will likely be just fine.

    I wouldn't host anything important though. I'm skeptical

  7. #7
    If its a part of a bigger company, it might be a part of a marketing plan where they hope people will buy the solution and after the 3 years are up they will keep paying their subscription to avoid the hassle of moving their content. Some sites might even grow big during the 3 year period and require a larger hosting solution. But none the less, this seems to be a marketing plan that would require putting a lot of money into the hosting without the possibility to get them back within many many years. (if they get them back)

    I would also recommend that you keep everything backed up and avoid any important content on your site.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Posts
    297
    Quote Originally Posted by Mekhu View Post
    Yes, for many of us the experience would be equal to painting a barn with a toothpick but for new users, it will likely be just fine.
    LOL !! Great Said
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Earth
    Posts
    8,154
    They are a part of BRINKSTER.COM so I'm sure they are not out to scam people out of 99 cents, just building clientele. Just like how you started this thread, others will ask more questions and bring them free publicity.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    Lol... not that I really care... but why is it advertised as "free" then they charge you $0.99?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    1&1 gave away 3 years of hosting + free domain many years ago... worked out very nicely for them!
    Even so many years ago, 1and1 was a pretty well known host in Europe. That 3 years offer was their attempt to make a name for themselves in the US, after they had already built a data center there, if memory serves me right. Rather than have an empty data center, they put some of it to work for marketing purposes.

    Hostable appears to be a Brinkster brand, and Brinkster has been around for a while. Apparently they're trying to put Hostable on the map, and IMHO it's not a bad way of doing it at all, give that the alternative would be to pay thousands of affiliates $100 per sale or thereabouts.

    Lol... not that I really care... but why is it advertised as "free" then they charge you $0.99?
    They call it a "setup fee". It's really just a way to collect payment related data and do fraud checks to ensure they get true customers that can eventually pay for their hosting.

    EDIT: In fact, they say so on the site, on the order page:

    Why are you charging me 99¢?
    As a hosting company we have to verify your identity, in order to do that we charge a 99¢ fee. The hosting package is free for 3 years.
    Last edited by ldcdc; 03-22-2011 at 06:45 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    UK: Oxford
    Posts
    1,259
    Think of it like filling a SMALL fish tank with ALLOT of FISH until they start splashing out of the water...

    It's a good idea to start off with, but soon gets out of hand.

    Granted, its a free service and stuff like that isn't always a bad thing as said before BUT you must not have high expectations!
    Garbott Ltd - Exceptional web development, hosting & consultancy services

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    You're right Dan, of course. I saw it a few minutes after asking.

    I checked it out for fun so that I could come back here and trash it. Instead I signed up. I'm gonna play.

  14. #14
    Either way, those who seek out the cheapest hosting are usually the ones who are quick to move to someone else once they need to pay for something.

    "Oh, so I need to upgrade my account now? Unbelievable! No thanks, i'll just find a new host."

    Not to mention the added cost of having to support (and support well, if this is a long term marketing plan) all these clients. Not to mention the sort of abuse this will attract, as most budget or 'too good to be true' offers do.

    Great deal, and I can see how its appealing from the customer stand point if they didn't know any better or was looking for their first web host. But it just seems that there would be less expensive ways of promoting the new brand as opposed to not earning any long term recurring payments for 3 years.
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  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    I see value in it for running some of my garbage domains... testing sites, etc.

    I think they're hoping you buy some of their many upgrades. Which aren't poorly priced either, mind you.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    70
    It has a 32MB memory limit though - I just found that *some* php GD scripts such as nextgen-gallery will not have enough memory to run properly.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    Oh, sure, NOW You mention that!

    I'm out $0.99!!! WT #$(#$ am I going to do now!?!?!

    SON OF AFRIGGIN....

    Just kidding

  18. #18
    That's a pretty amazing deal. The only thing is, I wouldn't expect much of a reply from support incase assistance is needed. Sounds like they're going to be pretty busy with over selling with clients.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Posts
    70
    Quote Originally Posted by ***********-TannerG View Post
    That's a pretty amazing deal. The only thing is, I wouldn't expect much of a reply from support incase assistance is needed. Sounds like they're going to be pretty busy with over selling with clients.
    I tested that out within the first 5m of buying the plan.

    Asked for a nameserver to be added (I wanted to use the Hurricane Electric nameservers instead, so I had to ask them to add the nameservers to the remote nameserver file so I could add my domains). Answered in 14m saying that ticket was forwarded to tech support.

    Its a little sketchy though. Even though they said they would forward it to tech support, the reply was at about 3pm EST, and its 9:20pm EST now, and they still haven't added the one line that would allow me to setup my domain.

    Tech support must be overwhelmed....

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    I'm having nameserver problems too. I've done everything on my end, but all online dns checking tools say the nameservers are "lame" (meaning the nameserver at the registrar is correctly pointing to the server, but the server isn't acknowledging that its in control of the domain). I too sent in a ticket several hours ago... nada.

  21. #21
    Hi Mate,
    it's really amazing deal.Even i need to take.

    Thanking you,
    David.
    Transition to wordpress today!!:wordpressmonk.com
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    Gmail :abacies@gmail.com
    Skype :abacies

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    Lol.. I can't believe I'm going to ask for my money back on $0.99... but...

    Their DNS is super-slow to get updated. 24 hours is sooo 1999 and that's supposed to reflect the amount of time it takes to propegate. But at Hostable, that's just the amount of time before they update the DNS on their own servers.

    But further is what I read on another forum, and confirmed by their chat CS rep... after the 3 years, you owe them for another 3 years at $7/mo. That is a "debt" that they will go after you for if you don't renew. If you want to cancel, that's fine... but you have to do it before expiration and not more than 60 days before according to the contract. THAT is why there is a $0.99 fee... because a contract is only valid if there is consideration (something given up) on both sides. You pay, you agree... simple as that. Try to cancel before the 60 days? According to the contract there is a $25 fee but it is unclear if that is $25 period, $25 per year, or $25 per early month (note: I didn't read this section of the contract - I'm not even sure where the contract is - but someone on the other forum supposedly read it. The CSR I talked to personally did confirm there is an early cancellation fee).

    But they also have a money back guarantee, so I'm getting out before it becomes more trouble than its worth.

    - Steven

  23. Could just be enthusiastic advertising? Like Patrick (above) said - 1&1 tried it and it worked for them. We have a lot of host advertising with us at 99cents for a year and stuff like that, they could just be pushing the boat out.

    Its got us talking about them anyway!

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Posts
    98
    Ok, I'm out $1.98. "setup fees are non-refundable, no exceptions". lol... it was a cheap lesson.

    Good luck the rest of you.

  25. Haha oh well, lesson learnt! Thanks for sharing, at least we'll all keep an eye out for them in the future now!

    Have you gone to another host now or are you still looking?

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