What point I should Consider before buying any reseller account?

[debanjanSEO]

Actually I plan to start reseller hosting business, I already few clients, who ready to buy hosting from me. Can anyone suggest me what points should I consider, to chose hosting provider apart from money and space. Most of the reseller hosting plan provide unlimited space, database. I got very little difference in features of different reseller account . Please guide me.

 

[CustomHosting]

If I understand correctly you want to start selling reseller hosting? If this is the case I would suggest you start with a VPS at a company with whom you can easily upgrade your VPS as and when you need it.

Things to look for:
SLA - service level agreement, read it carefully, so you don't get stung.
Location - If your clients are predominantly US, get a US server, if Europe, go for UK/France/Germany, etc.
Hardware - Don't get stuck on an aging dual core with no growth potential for yourself. Find someone using quad core, plenty of ram, and check they have RAID (preferably hardware) so if the worst happens and a drive fails, your data will be ok.
IPs - As a reseller you will need a fair few IPs, check your host will provide them, what they cost, how quickly they provision them.
Support - If you aren't an experienced admin, go for managed if you can afford it, otherwise unmanaged will give you a lot better deal but you will be largely on your own.

Lastly, as always, look for a host offering realistic specs not 'unlimited everything' as you will quickly find your on an oversold, overworked, under-performing server.

 

[handsonhosting]

As mentioned, overselling is a big issue. It's probably the main reason that clients leave hosts (aside from support staff). The other is definitely the ability to upgrade quickly.

Also, find out their policies on the clients that you resell to. If one of your clients spam or host warez etc, is the entire reseller account suspended, or just that individual user. YOU are ultimately responsible for the actions of your customers, so you'll need to find out where the line is drawn and how much exposure you have on your end.

 

[ameteriatravis]

Also, find out their policies on the clients that you resell to. If one of your clients spam or host warez etc, is the entire reseller account suspended, or just that individual user. YOU are ultimately responsible for the actions of your customers, so you'll need to find out where the line is drawn and how much exposure you have on your end.

This is very true. Even if you have your own Terms of Service (which is a MUST), in the end if one of your clients uploads a script that bogs down the server with high CPU loads/RAM loads, it will be traced down back to you and it's usually your account that gets suspended along with your client's.

And before even looking at plans, always read/glance over the host's Terms of Service. If they don't allow adult hosting then neither can you.

 

[IkY0294]

Overselling is a big thing now in days with web hosts. Also things to think about is billing systems.

Your best bet to start selling Reseller web hosting is to get a nice VPS and control panel. Go with a VPS company that you can upgrade your account at any time.

 

[ldcdc]

I'll go against the grain a bit and say that VPS is very much in vogue right now, and a lot of hosts are trying to make a buck out of it, selling it to anybody. It's not a panacea, and most new hosts are better off using a reseller account.

As for overselling, there's virtually not hosting company that doesn't directly or indirectly benefit from the practice. Server overloading can be a side effect of it, but with the terms of service of most hosts, chronic overloading is just a sign of laziness, stupidity, or lack of attention.

 

[fathive]

i would say the first day is the day when you should pick a quality reseller.

 

[CustomHosting]

If he wants to sell reseller hosting accounts he at least needs a VPS or a dedi though? Or am I reading his post wrong?

A small VPS (from a well run company, agreed with that point about many VPS being badly run) would be a much better investment to start with than a dedi, if he started with a cheap dedi their would be no direct upgrade path apart from changing the server unlike a VPS which could grow with him until his revenue stream justifies moving to a large dedi.

Unless you are suggesting some sort of master reseller service (The worst of the worst offenders for overselling! )

 

[ldcdc]

If he wants to sell reseller hosting accounts he at least needs a VPS or a dedi though? Or am I reading his post wrong?

Well, I did not read the post as you did. You may be right that he wants to sell reseller account, in which case a VPS does indeed make sense. Even then, I would not consider an entry level VPS an entirely wise choice.

 

[izumi777]

I would recommended a small VPS plan. It is much reliable than reseller hosting.

 

[handsonhosting]

It's only more reliable if you know how to secure your server, are familiar with server administration and upgrades of software etc. Being a VPS and assuming you're more secure is like saying that a house is more secure than an apartment. If you leave the doors open, it doesn't matter how secure you THINK the place is, you didn't do your job to shut the doors, the windows and set the alarm.

If you do choose the VPS route, and you do not have system admin experience, choosing a hosting company that offers managed VPS Machines may be an option, but saying VPS is more secure or more reliable than shared reseller hosting is not exactly correct.

 

[xeonnet]

Stape 1. Wht you need all they have at that Plan or not.
Stape 2. They declare SLA or Not
Stape 3. That Hosting Site Overloading or not.
Stape 4. How Can they support you (Not Go with the Stupid Supporters)
Stape 5. Try to direct email The Admin.
Stape 6. Choose Monthly Plan. If you like you tell them you want switch on Yearly Plan!

Good Luck!

 

[2WDH.com]

Hi.

About Reseller(shared) vs VPS:
Reseller and VPS are different services for different users/needs. VPS can be better in one situation, while Reseller is better in the other.
For "VPS or Reseller" decision many things should be considered (price, your admin skills, your client needs, etc.).

About points to consider before buying reseller account: (besides the items already posted in this thread)
1. How old the company is.
2. Check the uptime stats for each of their servers (public uptime stats from reputable third-party uptime monitoring service is preferred).
3. Check if they have a public forum and how do they interact with users.
4. Try to contact their support with pre-sale questions to see their response time, competence, etc.

About suspending reseller's account because of issues with one of his subaccounts: (Handsonhosting and Ameteriatravis are right. Really important point to consider)
That is definitely not a good idea to suspend the reseller's account without at least trying to investigate the situation and contact the reseller. There can be different situations - hacked sites, etc., and making reseller's life harder instead of helping him in such situation doesn't look nice.

 

[debanjanSEO]

Thanks all for your valuable suggestions.

 

[SenseiSteve]

Semi-Dedicated is also an alternative solution.

 

[XeHSean]

Make sure the company has good uptime and reliable support

 

[jamjam]

There is no such thing as unlimited. For me I would never buy from a host that offers unlimited anything.

 

[XeHSean]

There is no such thing as unlimited. For me I would never buy from a host that offers unlimited anything.

This is good advise, especially for reseller plans

 

[jamjam]

If they are selling unlimited plans they are surely overselling their resources which means slow servers and more headaches.


Anyway you might also want to check hosts that offers Free support to your clients. that way you can have more time doing other things like promoting your site