| Posted by Sponsorchat, 01-21-2006, 03:10 PM | | Often wondered if there's money in becoming a reseller, is there?
|
| Posted by nax9, 01-21-2006, 03:32 PM | | Short answer : yes.
However, just like any other webhosting business, you need to have a client base to make money . Resellers are, to put it blandly, mini-webhosts. Most clients will never know the difference, you decide your own costs, you get your own clients, etc...
It's a step below VPS/Dedicated...lower prices, to help you start out.
|
| Posted by StackHost, 01-21-2006, 04:32 PM | | Yes, if you put the research and work into the project. No, if you are hoping for a quick money adventure.
Good luck.
|
| Posted by cyanide, 01-21-2006, 05:14 PM | | The most ideal situation for a reseller account, IMO
is one who has clients already, such as a web designer
|
| Posted by build-a-host, 01-21-2006, 05:15 PM | | As the saying goes "You have to spend money to make money". You get out of it what you put in usually. If you only want to spend a few bucks a month then you may have a hard time with it. But, on the other hand, if you are willing to put money into your business then you will have much better luck.
To make a reseller host work, and look professional, you will need to think about the following prices.
Reseller: DO NOT go with the cheapest you can find! The same applies here, you get what you put into it usually. You can find a HUGE reseller for VERY cheap, but chances are that the host you are buying from is overselling like crazy and you and your clients will face alot of downtime and slow system performance which will end up losing your customers. Then when the customer gets sick of the downtime and/or slow server, they will go and post things like "Do not buy from WhateverHost.com, their service is awefull!", and you can see where this will lead.
Support: If you plan to handle this on your own you will need to buy a good support desk and/or a live chat system. These range in price, but in most cases your billing system will have a built in support desk. You can always outsorce the support to a 3rd party service like bobcares.com, and let them handle your customer support for about $25 a month to start.
Website: You mentioned you are a designer so this shouldnt be an issue for you in terms of cost, but it MUST look professional and have all the usuall content, and be setup in a clear easy to use design. A potential customer will not spend very long looking for links to your plans or support for instance.
Billing/Client Managment System: You will need a good signup script, and most of these have a built in support desk. There are some that create accounts automaticly after payment has been received, but if you use one of these BE SURE to use a fraud allert system of some sort or you will end up with TONS of fraudulant orders. I suggest ClientExec which prices $12 a month, or 2 licenses for $14 a month, and you can resell it for a very good price.
To make a long story short, if you want to have a business that CAN be succesful, you should look at spending anywhere from $50 to $100 a month. The first couple months (ATLEAST) will be a loss, but eventually your clientbase will build up and you will make that money back.
Best of luck to you!
|
| Posted by brithostnetwork, 01-21-2006, 05:33 PM | | Hello there,
We started off as a reseller and yes we did eventually make money. But as others have said above - in your first few months you will probably lose money. But in the long run, it is worth it! Make sure you have a professional site, great customer service and reasonable costs. Most of all make sure the reseller plan you choose is reliable - I've always found daily backup are a good feature to look for which give's your clients peace of mind. And finally be prepared to invest, you'll win some and you'll lose some...
Hope this helps
Liam
|
| Posted by Shaw Networks, 01-21-2006, 06:01 PM | | Of course there is! Look at how many successful web hosts there are here at WHT, the industry is packed with opporunity for newcomers.
|
| Posted by ldcdc, 01-21-2006, 08:45 PM | | If you find a market that you can tap into, sure. Don't expect to be able to compete with 1and1 and Godaddy.
Also, I wouldn't expect making a living (US standards) off a single reseller account.
|
| Posted by Sponsorchat, 01-23-2006, 07:42 PM | | One of the reasons I ask is because I do a large volume of new reg's and buy and sell, might seriously look into it now. Thanks.
|
| Posted by cunning, 01-24-2006, 11:08 AM | | Well, reseller hosting is an emerging industry SC, you should start thinking of investing and gaining the organic growth down the line.
|
| Posted by hostlec, 01-25-2006, 03:23 AM | | Dont be a reseller if you dont plan to put in money and effort. Actually, money is the first must have tool. I mean, a reasonable budget. Simply getting a reseller account to resell isn;t going to work. There are way much more stuff that cost u.
|
| Posted by Mike911, 01-30-2006, 05:25 PM | | Dont forget to plan for growth in the future. Sure, you might find a decent host to start off with but what are you going to do when your cutomer base grows (assuming it will). Plan ahead and stay ahead. Look out for upgrades from your current host, because it'll be easier and quicker to get bigger without changing host if you can. But you still have to shop around.
Hope that helps
Mike
|
|
 Add to Favourites
 Print this Article
|
