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  1. #1

    Taking Business Away?

    Hello,

    Currently I am looking to start a webdesign site for local companies in my area. I would like to start a company that would allow businesses to get quality design and affordable hosting for a nominal fee. While it would make more sense to start out with a reseller account instead of renting out from rackshack for example, whos to say that the company I am buying a reseller from will not go to my account and tell my customers that they could host for less? I am weary of being scammed by the company that I go with and was wondering what would prevent ANY company from doing so?

    Thanks,
    Michelle

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
    Posts
    9,687
    Research before you make the commitment to resell for them.

    However, how stupid would it be for a company you are bringing clients to...to go to your customers and undercut you? They wouldn't be making any more money from your customers than they are from you...and you would cease to bring them any new business.

    Bottom line, unless you deal with a company that has absolutely NO business sense...your pretty safe from your host stealing your customers.

    --Tina
    ||| 99.999% Uptime SLA!!!
    Plenty of space and bandwidth to fit your needs!
    www.AEIandYou.com - - (WP Friendly - Premium Reseller Hosting and Cheap Dedicated Servers)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    373
    Most hosting companies do everything they can to remain anonymous from your clients. A good reseller account will give you virtual name servers to assist it making it look like to are a regular hosting company with your own servers.
    Jamie
    RadicalV.com High Velocity Hosting Services - Since 1999
    Hsphere Linux & Windows Hosting ~ Automated Reseller Plans ~ EasyApp Collection

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    918
    I think you really have to trust the host that you go with. If you cannot trust the host then you should not go with them because they will always be able to see who you host.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    North America
    Posts
    1,229
    Not much beyond a good solid set of ethics. If a host is going to provide truly bad service, or actively try to scam people, they'll make or find ways.

    Your best bet is to do lots of research on different reseller packages and program signup fees, find a company who will answer your questions, get into their support forums and talk to current clients, make sure that you feel comfortable with them. Make sure that this group of people is a group of people that you can ask questions of, that will provide you with answers, and that will provide you with answers that fit your comfort level. Be up front with the host about what you want to do, your level of experience, and so forth.

  6. #6
    The reason why I would ask is because recently a new trend has come up in smaller hosting companies ran by individuals. Is it mandated that online companies are licensed? It would be more equitable for me to go with a company who isn't licensed at the moment (e.g. cyberpixels.com, hostradius.com, e-starr.net, etc.) but I would like to make sure that I would be secure as a customer. While I personally would feel comfortable going with them, there is always the fact that online you can create your own identity and there are no true guarantees. I was wondering about any insight on the issue.

    Another avenue I thought about would be to purchase hosting at cheap prices and than charging my client for the hosting with a $2 markup. I do not know if this is legal or ethical, and I am currently in the process of researching any available avenues.

    The companies who I would host are small companies who would not require excessive space and/or bandwidth. My parents own a company, and they have clients who could use quality web services and I saw the opportunity for money to be made.

    I want to make an informed decision before I start anything. Thank you for your replies.

    Michelle

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    North America
    Posts
    1,229
    Hi again Michelle,

    On reselling: if you're talking about getting into a reseller program, that's exactly what they are: you purchase the hosting plan at cost X from the provider, and you resell it at X+markup to your clients. Buying several ultra-cheap hosting plans and then reselling them isn't necessarily a good idea. First off, you are still responsible for supplying the support to the folks to whom you sell plans. Second, many hosting companies will have a clause in their TOS that disallows reselling your web space without being in a proper reselling program.

    On licensing: I don't know of any licensing of online businesses that is required, other than any required local business licenses. Do you mean licensed, as in licensed by some web hosting board somewhere? This is honestly not something I've ever seen. (Doesn't mean it doesn't exist, or wouldn't be a semi-good idea if someone could come up with a good system that couldn't be circumvented or abused. I've just not seen it.)

  8. #8
    So the best option would be to go with a reseller account, and than provide my own services and be the support contact, etc. I thought this would be the right alternative, but my mother was skeptical. Thank you for all of your help.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027

    Re: Taking Business Away?

    Originally posted by Shelly
    Currently I am looking to start a webdesign site for local companies in my area. I would like to start a company that would allow businesses to get quality design and affordable hosting for a nominal fee. While it would make more sense to start out with a reseller account instead of renting out from rackshack for example,
    Absolutely. What's best [IMHO] is a reseller account where you can setup your own domains etc and you pay for disk space and data transfer. The section of the market that you're targeting is very low usage sites etc. Most of these businesses just want a website to add to their letterheads, business cards etc. They're use very little in resources.
    whos to say that the company I am buying a reseller from will not go to my account and tell my customers that they could host for less? I am weary of being scammed by the company that I go with and was wondering what would prevent ANY company from doing so?
    They shouldn't do that. You are their client and you have your clients.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027
    Originally posted by Shelly
    So the best option would be to go with a reseller account, and than provide my own services and be the support contact, etc. I thought this would be the right alternative, but my mother was skeptical. Thank you for all of your help.
    You're on the right track.

    There's a good market out there for local cost effective web design. You can charge them for hosting, updates etc. So it's a product that you initial sell, and one that has a recurring value to it as well.

    I would start at the bottom with a bulk reseller type account and then work your way up into your own dedicated server as your cashflow increases. Of course, there's nothing wrong with spreading your client's sites over several reseller account with several providers. This way you're not tied to your server and it's your providers responsibility to maintain the servers etc.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,783
    Shelly

    Do a little research on the company you are going to use. Do a search on them here, ask for references, do a google search on them. Ask them how long they have been in business and these days ask them how old they are.

    There are several top notch reseller hosting company's HTTPme, Voxtereme and many more. Just don't jump at the lowest price and try to get a feel for the people you will be dealing with.

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