I started a thread the other day about FREE HOSTING WITH ADS. Many commented thier very valued and appreciated opinions about FREE hosting vs. paid hosting.

Now, I have a problem. My problem is not with your statements, but some inconsistancies. While some here appear to be against free hosting, I have noticed by looking at your websites that you OFFER A FREE month of hosting, or some other FREE FEATURES OR ITEMS.

Can you please help us out here. For those of you saying that you will give a FREE month of hosting, is this before we PAY for services? Of course if it is before we pay for services then I would agree that it is truely FREE. However if you only OFFER THE FREE 1 month or 6 month hosting after another hosting plan is purchased, I question if it is truely free, and seriously wonder how you can tell your customers that they are getting a FREE month of hosting when they have already paid you enough for 12 months of hosting????? Is this a deceptive business practice, or is commonly accepted by consumers that there is nothing FREE, and to make such a claim is simply a sales pitch to stick it too you in the pocket book.

Something to think about.

Perhaps I dont understand what the word free means. One of my business instructors at ASU taught me there was no FREE lunch and I am sure the gp would agree with me.

Of course, you can enjoy many free services with a paid hosting but a free hosting can not offer you any thing else.

Its just like you go to a pizza shop and purchase, there you get free burger with it in a deal.

How do you get FREE HOSTING when you PAY FOR HOSTING?

How do you get a FREE BURGER when you HAVE to PURCHASE A PIZZA?

A TRUELY FREE burger would mean that I could walk in and say Hi, I am here for the FREE BURGER! The price of the pizza has been priced to offset the price the BURGER THEY ARE SELLING. THUS IT IS NOT FREE! Man I loved my Micro economics class at ASU.

It doesn't make it a deceptive business practice because its in black and white that you have to purchase the service in order to receive the additional free benefit.

What's the option? You can either just sign up for 12 months and get nothing, or sign up with someone else for 12 months and get 3 months free. THAT is not deceptive because you wouldn't sign-up for a service that you do not need or want in the first place.

My

My point is that you (the buyer) must pay for something that is supposed to be free. It really is not FREE. The company could not offer three months of hosting without having a strategy to recoup that 3 month investment of service. NOTHING IS FREE.

Do you know of any companies that Offer you to pay one month, and get 11 months FREE?????

Nope! You know why? It is not an equitable offer. There is no possible way the company could earn 11 months out of 1 month.

11 Months of service pays for 12 months of service!

Just my opinion when a hosting company says look I will give you 3 FREE months for 12 months of service, they just told me that thier service is over priced by 3 months.

NOW I AM WORTH THE FREE BANNERS AFTER THE HARD TIME YOU HAVE BEEN GIVING ME.

NerdZ Host is offering free hosting and in exchange we ask the clients to give us either a banner on the site, a text link, a special post on there blog or Hosting review on forums like this. This helps to build a good Rep in the eyes of Customers, In which return maybe these free clients will become Paid clients but it all depends on how you treat them.

If your going to treat them like there chips thrown on a floor then your not going to earn there respect as a Hosting Business.

Yes it will cost me money to allow these people to have free accounts but I do not care.

Thats my two cents, Please understand this is not an ad this is how I feel about this issue

Everyone here understands the 3 months of service is being paid by 12 months. What is the argument? That you see a free domain promotion and people should expect to just get it for free?

The point is that the offer might not have any promotions with it at all. So you'll just pay for 12 months of service and not receive anything else. Yes, that makes those 3 months free.

If the customer is not obligated to pay anything or comit to service then it is indeed FREE. I may check you out sometime. I am talking about people saying that they get a FREE MONTH When they cant get the FREE MONTH without paying for 11 Additional months. That is not free. A discount maybe, but definately not free. If you have to comit to 11 months to get one month free then the company just told the customer that thier service was really only worth the cost of 11 months rather than 12 months. This isnt burgers and Fries we are selling here it is SERVICE! Service is not free!

When 1&1 Internet came on the North American market, they have offered 3 years of free hosting, without any obligation to continue. Was that not a FREE offer?

If there was not obligation to pay before or after the Free offer then yes it indeed was truely free.

I will say that I hosted a website through 1&1 and I was very happy with thier service, templates, and prices.

Does it not mean that there is free lunch after all?

I am not sure....did they have ads on the site for the free years?

There is truely free offers. I never said there wasnt. Truely Free means you do not have to pay for it EVER! It is FREE.

No there is NO FREE LUNCH....the service cost someone something. They had a strategy. Perhaps the profits they were making from the other markets offset the loss they were taking in the North American Market. No it wasnt free, someone paid for it.

Sort of like food stamps....they are not free....someone has to pay for them.

NO FREE LUNCH

So its NOT free now? Even though it was for a fact FREE??

So a candy that I give you is only free if I keep giving you free candies indefinitely? Did you have to pay for that first candy?

Wait a second... You just said above: "There is truely free offers. I never said there wasnt."

Now you say there is "no free lunch".

Please pick one. Pretty please.

Why do YOU, AS CONSUMER, care who pays for what if you get 3 FREE years of hosting? No banners, no payments, no obligations, no contracts. Whatever the strategy the company chooses is their business, not yours. Could you have gone 3 free years of hosting or not with that promotion?