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Thread: Foreign hosting

  1. #1

    Foreign hosting

    I'm looking for a good Windows reseller plan, and invariably the best priced packages are offered by companies based outside my country (USA). What if any risks are there to doing business with a foreign company? Is there any less recourse if they don't deliver as promised than if I were dealing with a company on the other side of the US? What about credit card charges... are they less secure/protected than if the transaction were entirely within the United States? Am I just being paranoid, or are there some legitimate concerns?

  2. #2
    It realy is not that diferent, mosts use PayPal, so that is the same on all country's.

    So that wold not be a problem.

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  3. #3
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    Do you envision a situation where you'd actually consider it worth it to go to court? If that's the case, then I can see it being "safer" to go with a host in the same country (perhaps even state).

    However, for the vast majority of hosting customers (including resellers), suing will never be a real option; it's simply not worth it for a few hundred dollars (max).

  4. #4
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    Even if the host is based in the US, there is nothing stopping them from taking your money and disapearing

    But if the host is based near you, your support tickets might be answered quicker as they are in the same time zone as you are...
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  5. #5
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    foreign company

    I always deal with foreign hosts, so far with a belgian and a american hosts. And I must say both are really great, customer service, etc...

    Much better than what I will get in my own country.

    So, for me, I don't mind going foreign, as long as they are the best! (price & quality&support)

  6. #6
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    I would be looking for REGISTERED businesses and not home jobs. Registered companies have stricter requirements and are less likely run by kids. Not to say it can't happen, but US businesses can take your money and run too.

    Australia, USA, UK, etc

    On that note, quite a few cheap and reliable Windows Hosters.

  7. #7
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    But if the host is based near you, your support tickets might be answered quicker as they are in the same time zone as you are...
    When support is truly 24/7, that won't have a noticeable influence.

  8. #8
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    Originally posted by ldcdc
    When support is truly 24/7, that won't have a noticeable influence.
    true, I noticed a few years back some hosts claimed 24/7 but replies still took 6-8 hours for a basic question. Hence, I conclude their support staff (1 or more persons) had a good 6 hours sleep then decided to answer tickets.

  9. #9
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    I have found this thread interesting.

    A couple of points I would like to make:
    Credit card processing - the major credit cards are international. Visa, Mastercard etc. are processed the same way for every single transaction once it comes to them. If the Net side of the transaction is set up properly there is no more, or less, risk in using them no matter where they are being used.
    (Note the recent problem with the Atlanta cc. datacenter where millions of people worldwide have been affected. Many of those transactions did not take place in the US, but were processed there).

    Web hosts that have been around for any length of time, and I am generalising here of course, are generally housed at US datacenters.

    A dot com does not mean a company/business is American. In the early days, there weren't too many choices for country TLD's and dot coms were started by foreign companies.

    US hosts are just as likely to be fraudulent as any other hosts. Sure, you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, but other countries have similar organisations that you can complain to.
    At the end of the day, what matters is finding someone reputable that you feel you can trust.

  10. #10
    I absolutely agree that a foreign company is no more likely to do bad business than a US company. I just wonder if the terms of service is are enforcable across international juristictions.

    I guess there are three things that concern me ... but perhaps not realistic concerns. First, is if there were unreasonable or unauthorized credit card charges and the hassle of trying to fight that halfway around the world.

    Second, if the host company would steal my client domains, or for some reason freeze them and not allow me access to update or move them. There is at least SOME recourse in the US, but I don't know about other countries.

    Third, even though many of the US based hosts are more expensive ... I wonder if I shouldn't be spending my money at home. Heaven knows a lot of IT jobs have left this country because foreign labor pools are cheaper ... just try calling tech support for any major computer company. Maybe I should put my money where my mouth is.

    Anyway, thanks for your thoughts.

  11. #11
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    Originally posted by doppess

    Third, even though many of the US based hosts are more expensive ... I wonder if I shouldn't be spending my money at home.
    If everyone thought the same, and thought that I'd rather spend with a domestic company for purely sentimental reasons, international trade and commerce wouldn't exist today...

    The US exports alot of products to Europe and Asia.. I'm sure many of those countries produce equivalent products as well.. If consumers in those countries stopped buying US products, it would hurt all the economies involved.

    Lastly, don't forget many non-US hosts have servers in the US, buy software in the US and source various services in the US to keep the necessary infrastructure for their hosting operations running 24x7.. They push money back into the US and the larger ones do indeed generates jobs in the US as a result of that
    Last edited by Yash-JH; 07-03-2005 at 04:58 AM.
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  12. #12
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    Originally posted by doppess

    I guess there are three things that concern me ... but perhaps not realistic concerns. First, is if there were unreasonable or unauthorized credit card charges and the hassle of trying to fight that halfway around the world.

    Second, if the host company would steal my client domains, or for some reason freeze them and not allow me access to update or move them. There is at least SOME recourse in the US, but I don't know about other countries.
    1) You wouldn't be liable to pay an unauthorized charge.. You could easily dispute a credit card charge with your credit card company regardless of where the host is located. Additionally, if you go with a reputed host, you could easily avoid such issues regardless of where the host is.
    1) Steal client's domains: You can file a dispute with ICANN regardless or where the host is located

    Many non-US hosts have companies registered in the US, and staff working for them in the US. You could easily sue their US subsidiaries if you encounter unfair business practises...
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  13. #13
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    If you are truly worried about credit card fraud I suggest you do some homework.

    Top Ten Countries - Perpetrator
    1. United States – 78.75%
    2. Canada – 3.03%
    3. Nigeria – 2.87%
    4. United Kingdom – 2.32%
    5. Italy – 2.01%
    6. Greece – 1.04%
    7. Romania – .92%
    8. France– .86%
    9. Spain – .6%
    10. China – .58%

    http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/statistics.asp
    January 1, 2004 - December 31, 2004

    The Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center (NW3C). You may find other information there too which will make you feel more (or less) comfortable when weighing up the risks of dealing with an overseas company.

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