Let's Be Honest... Do You Resellers Really Make Money?

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Posted by koushibasaki, 09-14-2005, 04:38 PM
I can't decide whether to get a reseller account, another VPS ( I already got one), or a shared hosting (I already got one). With the kind of money I am gonna pay for another hosting account I could have get myself the cheapest dedicated server if I add a little bit more money but I am already committed to these hosting companies for 3 years. So, I can't afford a dedicated server, because that means my Google Adsense income will be used to pay dedicated server leaving me nothing to spend. So, I am seriously thinking of going into reselling business. I am no web designer with clients. My main income is coming from Adsense. Do you resellers have merchant account? Is it easy to get a merchant account? I am not running a company. Just an individual doing affiliate selling online. Do you make money? Did anybody enquire about your hosting plans at all? How often? Thanks for your input.
Posted by redihot.com, 09-14-2005, 04:49 PM
Resellers do make money, other wise why would people want to signup for them or sell space off them? we can make a profit by spliting larger amounts of space down and reselling it at a larger price, hence the term reseller, i would say that we get the same amount of sales as some one with a dedicated server as we can offer other things and we can get better technology by shooping around, even if we do share it. hope this helps
Posted by Ariel74, 09-14-2005, 05:52 PM
Merchant accounts are not difficult to get if you have ok credit... credit score of 600+ makes it almost automatic.
Posted by koushibasaki, 09-14-2005, 06:00 PM
How to get credit score? I am living in Asia
Posted by liquid, 09-14-2005, 06:18 PM
you should proably talk to your local bank for a merchant account as some/most provide or can point you in the right direction locally
Posted by jmweb, 09-14-2005, 06:42 PM
Can resellers make money? YES! In fact, we had multiple reseller accounts with multiple companies before we took the big jump to a dedicated server numerous years ago. The advantage of being a reseller is that your expenses are much lower, plus you don't have to worry about having someone look after your servers. Another advantage is you get to test out the market. You can become a reseller and be out $20-$30 a month, or you could get a dedicated server and be out $200-$300 a month.
Posted by ldcdc, 09-14-2005, 08:30 PM
In the Ecommerce forum it is often said that (economically speaking) for sales up to $1000 per month, a third party processor is a good choice. For processing over $1000 per month, a merchant account is the better choice. That can depend quite heavily on where you live. For me, it's virtually impossible.
Posted by YLH - Angus, 09-14-2005, 09:39 PM
Whereabouts are you ldcd ? In Aus there are some banks that have progressed having their own online processing system but the others (ours included) seem to be dragging their heels This means that assuming you want to process payments online as opposed to using an eftpos terminal, you have to get a merchant account AND a third part processor to run it through which adds to the cost Best you check with financial institutions in your country to see what is available to you
Posted by The Stealthy One, 09-14-2005, 09:58 PM
To answer your question, we are indeed making $$$. (And many others I know are too!)
Posted by layer0, 09-14-2005, 10:05 PM
When you're a reseller the best thing to do is to compete on service, not price. Many resellers are web designers as well and they offer an "all in one" package to their clients (who are often local). This gives them an edge over other companies and it's usually simple to compete in a local market. Of course, if you're aiming at the global market and are competing with bargain basement hosts, you would really need to rethink your strategy. Additionally, even though you can get a cheap dedicated server, ask yourself this: Do you have a team to manage that server 24x7 and make sure there is minimal downtime? Or, are you going to wake up in the morning one day and find that httpd was down for 8 hours? When you have a dedicated server, there are countless additional prices. With a reseller account, all of this is already taken care of .
Posted by jaredhite1, 09-15-2005, 12:15 AM
I agree with elix...Most resellers are web developers like myself that simply like having all their sites on one host so you don't have to remember the quirks of configurations of each site you do. You can use common code, develop a relationship with the host, while making a few bucks a month off of your clients, who are more than happy to pay extra for the peace of mind of knowing that the person who developed their site is also taking care of its hosting. -Jared
Posted by badr, 09-15-2005, 03:11 AM
it just depends on your business plan. A lot of resellers are webdesigners that try and make a little extra on the side so their main income is not from reselling per say.
Posted by fuzion2k5, 09-15-2005, 04:29 AM
I'm pretty sure most people that start a web hosting company always start with a reseller account. I started offering web hosting on a reseller account and once I outgrew and had enough money, I bought myself a dedicated server.
Posted by bwb, 09-15-2005, 04:43 AM
I started reselling about three to four years ago and it paid for a chunk of college and taught me a lot, ended up selling the company when it grew too large and moved on to other things but yes you can make money esp if you read these forums for info and focus on a small niche where its easy and cheap to get customers, plus if you are looking at producing a nice sole person income and not a huge company its a bit easier. Last edited by bwb; 09-15-2005 at 04:46 AM.
Posted by Revo.In, 09-15-2005, 06:25 AM
Definately! As a reseller host, you can make tons of money. See thousands of websites, around the world are added to the internet daily. And each of them needs a webhost! Looking at that, if you can get a small percentage of those websites hosted at your hosting, you'll become rich in no time. The web hosting industry is full of potential, its upto you to bend it your way! You might do well by getting a partner & investing a 50-50%. That'll increase your market reach. Last edited by Revo.In; 09-15-2005 at 06:31 AM.
Posted by ldcdc, 09-15-2005, 08:36 AM
I'm not sure what you mean. Are you talking about marketing locally? I've always thought that a major advantage of having partners was being able to work in shifts, covering more hours of support service per day, sharing expertise etc.
Posted by YLH - Angus, 09-15-2005, 08:48 AM
I think they are meaning with twice as much initial capital you would be able to promote to twice as many people therefore increasing the reach into your target market
Posted by ByteMaster, 09-15-2005, 02:13 PM
I will stick with the subjuct question, and simply say YES! We have resellers that do very very well. many end up with several reseller accounts on different servers, and the really successful ones end up with leasing thier own server at some point. What I would warn someone getting into the game is - don't expect it to happen immediately. You do have to work at it. You must learn and implement good SEO practices. Like the old saying goes, just because you put up a site, does not mean anyone will visit.
Posted by ByteMaster, 09-15-2005, 02:16 PM
Good advice. It is quite difficult to get a real merchant account anymore, and with the new Federal ACH Clearinghouse rules, it is going to become more difficult. Also you have Visa tightening thier grip - just look at what happened to PaySystems last year.
Posted by layer0, 09-15-2005, 03:22 PM
That's one advantage, another advntage is to be financially stronger as both you and the partner can invest into the company. Your budget for everything can be doubled.
Posted by Wullie, 09-15-2005, 09:16 PM
I wouldn't say that was always an advantage. If it is a single person then you only need 1 wage, however if there are 2 people then the business needs to pay 2 wages. For the initial startup of a company with no customers, this can often mean the difference between success or failure. Having twice the budget doesn't always mean you will make twice the money from it.

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