Potential customer

[Gary]

Perfect, exactly what I wanted to hear!

This sounds fantastic and I am really taking HostGator into consideration. I really want to make my reseller hosting successful and I feel that HostGator is the best way to go to my current knowledge. I will still do my research, but as said, you guys sure are on top so far.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Gary

Perfect, exactly what I wanted to hear!

This sounds fantastic and I am really taking HostGator into consideration. I really want to make my reseller hosting successful and I feel that HostGator is the best way to go to my current knowledge. I will still do my research, but as said, you guys sure are on top so far.

You will also find many users here that started as a reseller and have grown to the point of moving to dedicated. So I would have to say it is a good choice I can't speak from comparing as we were using shared plans until the move to HG, but there are posts here from reseleers trying HG and in the end move the accounts from other hosts over also.

[Gary]

I haven't noticed that and haven't heard about any of HostGator's customers but I wouldn't be surprised. That's how some of the more modern day hosting services begin their business; starting out as a reseller and moving onto their own bought servers.

I hope to be one of these people, but of course I have to purchase the Aluminium package here first. As soon as I fix some details with my bank and bank card I will be getting into it.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Gary

I haven't noticed that and haven't heard about any of HostGator's customers but I wouldn't be surprised. That's how some of the more modern day hosting services begin their business; starting out as a reseller and moving onto their own bought servers.

I hope to be one of these people, but of course I have to purchase the Aluminium package here first. As soon as I fix some details with my bank and bank card I will be getting into it.

Yeah, most of that is in the customer's support forums that you gain access to after signing up. BTW, I am one of those customers that started with an Aluminum Plan We moved up twice before going dedicated. Wish we would have just went dedicated from the beginning as the resources where different at 5,000 mb for the aluminum!

[Gary]

What do you mean by the dedicated server having a difference of 5 GB then the Aluminium package? Is that the only difference?

Oh yeah true, I forgot that this particular forum is for those who haven't purchased any of HostGator's services. That's fantastic to hear. And you are using a dedicated server for your own hosting service with HostGator as well, or with another host?

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Gary

What do you mean by the dedicated server having a difference of 5 GB then the Aluminium package? Is that the only difference?

Oh yeah true, I forgot that this particular forum is for those who haven't purchased any of HostGator's services. That's fantastic to hear. And you are using a dedicated server for your own hosting service with HostGator as well, or with another host?

The 5 gb reference was the disk space that was available when we signed up in April of 2005. Since then it has grown

The dedicated we chose was here at HG as the management was included for a server comparable to what others offered unmanaged. That and we have been happy for the most part throughout the years.

[Gary]

Oh ok, awesome. When looking at the prices of dedicated servers here at HostGator, it is way out of my budget for the time-being. It costs $174 for the Basic plan; this is something that I will be purchasing if my reseller hosting gets somewhere in the future. I don't plan to be the biggest host around, but if I am able to gain and sustain numerous customers then I am quite happy.

The dedicated servers are sure a thing to think about, but as stated above, it will be a while before I am able to afford that with the profits I make from the reseller.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Gary

Oh ok, awesome. When looking at the prices of dedicated servers here at HostGator, it is way out of my budget for the time-being. It costs $174 for the Basic plan; this is something that I will be purchasing if my reseller hosting gets somewhere in the future. I don't plan to be the biggest host around, but if I am able to gain and sustain numerous customers then I am quite happy.

The dedicated servers are sure a thing to think about, but as stated above, it will be a while before I am able to afford that with the profits I make from the reseller.

Yes, it is quite a jump. We are not breaking even with the actual hosting accounts yet, but actually wish we had moved earlier as we have been growing faster since moving. Once spoiled by the extra control, we could never go back
There are also unadvertised unmanaged servers that are equivalent to the basic almost for $75 a month which is something to keep in mind should the need arise. Many people are happy to stay with reseller accounts though and with the amount of resources available for $99 the only advantage would be the ability for more control and overselling.

[Gary]

I appreciate your posts gtgeorge, it is greatly appreciated especially when this comes from a person who has had experience in the region you are interested in. I have been a reseller before and it lasted 3 months. The site got taken down as we didn't have enough organisation done and needed to solve various issues.

This time round I hope to get everything in order from the get-go. I plan to fix up hosting packages (free and paid), set up the domain, create a complete forum for support and chat and various other areas that need tending to. At the moment I am using my personal blog to post day-to-day news about any updates with my projects which mainly includes my hosting service.

Thanks for letting me know about the unadvertised unmanaged servers which come for $75. Something I will keep in mind if I intend on growing further.

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by Gary

Oh yeah true, I forgot that this particular forum is for those who haven't purchased any of HostGator's services. That's fantastic to hear. And you are using a dedicated server for your own hosting service with HostGator as well, or with another host?

While non-customers can post here, your responses are from HG customers, if that wasn't clear...

I'm one of the proverbial web developers turned reseller turned dedicated server folks, too. I started with a baby plan running a small, personal site to test the service, having been burned by bad hosting before. A few experiences with support and I knew I could work with HG. When I was convinced that I had good hosting, I got myself a reseller plan and started moving my clients over. Or, more accurately, I had HG support move 'em.

After a while, I got the chance to take over a larger site that made enough money to pay for a dedicated, so I made the leap to managed dedicated last April. I'm still working on the backend for my hosting company site, but eventually will be marketing the hosting directly.

Good luck!

[Gary]

No problem, it was clear enough.

And another one who started off with the basic and eventually made it to dedicated hosting. It's good to hear and gives me even more confidence in the services provided here at HostGator. I am inching more and more towards getting everything sorted straight away and purchasing the Aluminium reseller package.

It is also good to hear that you are still doing quite well with the dedicated server. You were successful using the smaller packages and I do wish you luck in the future. Hopefully everything goes well and your hosting service prosperous.

If anyone else can give me some news such as the above then please let me know. Anything that is positive or negative about HostGator is what I want to hear. I have read various reviews given by customers here and most are positive. I guess you really have to just go for it and see it for yourself.

[slapshotw]

Let me also add myself...I had a reseller account with Hostgator for my first few months, but am now happily on a dedicated (and wouldn't look back!).

[gwyneth]

Gary, when you get full viewing privileges there is an excellent thread from a while back by one of our forum greats, Serra, about leveraging reseller accounts to dedi and beyond.

[Gary]

Thanks for that slapshotw; looks like most of the people who resell end up using dedicated servers.

Oh I would love to read it; would you be able to give me the link so that when I am able to view the whole forum (if I decide to use HostGator), I can have a read of it?
It will be much appreciated and will give me the opportunity to organise my hosting service in the right way as well as what to expect and where to go in the future should it be that prosperous.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Gary

Thanks for that slapshotw; looks like most of the people who resell end up using dedicated servers.

Oh I would love to read it; would you be able to give me the link so that when I am able to view the whole forum (if I decide to use HostGator), I can have a read of it?
It will be much appreciated and will give me the opportunity to organise my hosting service in the right way as well as what to expect and where to go in the future should it be that prosperous.

WHOAH actually it is a small # of resellers that go dedicated when comparing the big picture. HG hosts hundreds if not thousands of resellers. While quite a few move up and become a real hosting company, many are content to stay as a reseller and with the current resources, that may be the best choice for most.
Last time I looked there are over 60 reseller servers You can see many of them here:
http://www.hostgator.com/sharedssl.shtml

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

WHOAH actually it is a small # of resellers that go dedicated when comparing the big picture. HG hosts hundreds if not thousands of resellers. While quite a few move up and become a real hosting company, many are content to stay as a reseller and with the current resources, that may be the best choice for most.

it really depends on what you want to do. but a lot of the folks you'll find who take the time to go through the presales question threads are folks that are a little more invested in the community, so perhaps dedicated box owners are over-represented in this sample.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

it really depends on what you want to do. but a lot of the folks you'll find who take the time to go through the presales question threads are folks that are a little more invested in the community, so perhaps dedicated box owners are over-represented in this sample.

Yep, I wish I would have found their reseller plan when I was running just a couple of sites. I think it would make the better account for anyone hosting more than 1 site. In fact I actually opened the reseller account with no real plans of becoming a hosting company. Mainly to house my couple sites along with a couple family/friends. But with all the tools available, it seemed a waste to not throw our hat in the ring!
And it does seem that the users that post regular are putting more of an effort to growing the business, but who knows what goes on with those that do not post?

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

And it does seem that the users that post regular are putting more of an effort to growing the business, but who knows what goes on with those that do not post?

Well, when I was checking out HG, I spent some time on the forums, to get a feel for what people were complaining about, and the tone of HG staff in dealing with them. 20 minutes on a support forum can give you a real good idea very quickly if these are people you can work with or not.

When I moved to reseller, I would come onto the forums when I had a specific problem, and probably 85% of the time or more, find the answer with the magical search button. Boom. Goal-oriented, no posting. Sometimes I'd pop off a quick answer here or there if I knew it off the top of my head, but no real investment.

But now, with the dedicated, I come here to learn and keep on top of running my box. I'm learning the trade, essentially, via the time and generositiy of others more knowledable than myself.

And I'm looking at different things now. I pay more attention to the kinds of things other people are asking about, but thinking less in terms of what I need personally and more in terms of, "this is what hosting customers do," not to mention that, having received a lot of help here myself at this point, I feel it appropriate to give back where I can.

And now I also am watching HG's occassional growing pains and how they and others here handle difficult situations, so that hopefully I can make newer, better mistakes and not the same ol' ones I can sometimes see here.

So I guess the investment of the posters depends a lot on their goals and perhaps personal code of informational ethics or something like that...

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

WHOAH actually it is a small # of resellers that go dedicated when comparing the big picture.

George, by no means was I (who know knothing about reselling) suggesting that dedicated was the way to go when I suggested Serra's old post...it just gives a lot of information about growth strategy for resellers.

[Goddess Dix]

Originally Posted by Gary

Thanks for that slapshotw; looks like most of the people who resell end up using dedicated servers.

Gwyn, I think he was responding to this comment.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

George, by no means was I (who know knothing about reselling) suggesting that dedicated was the way to go when I suggested Serra's old post...it just gives a lot of information about growth strategy for resellers.

Actually I was just clearing up whereas Gary was starting to think "most" resellers go dedicated. Actually, if I would have ever thought I could get a cheap server and manage it myself, I might have gave it a try many many years ago
I also wanted to point out the value of a reseller account for non resellers that have no intention of resellling. In fact wasn't that your path?

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

I also wanted to point out the value of a reseller account for non resellers that have no intention of resellling. In fact wasn't that your path?

No, I jumped our coop account straight from the largest regular shared account to the smallest unmanaged dedi.

I thought about a reseller account--to separate out the cPanels for SSL purposes--but I figured by the time I multiplied the cost of separate dedicated IPS, etc., it wasn't that much less than what had yet to be named the DediKiddy (TM) and figured that the security advantages for four or five ecommerce sites made a dedi inevitable at some point in the future anyway.

[gtgeorge]

Originally Posted by gwyneth

No, I jumped our coop account straight from the largest regular shared account to the smallest unmanaged dedi.

I thought about a reseller account--to separate out the cPanels for SSL purposes--but I figured by the time I multiplied the cost of separate dedicated IPS, etc., it wasn't that much less than what had yet to be named the DediKiddy (TM) and figured that the security advantages for four or five ecommerce sites made a dedi inevitable at some point in the future anyway.

Yep and the savings in SSL installation and the extra ips help foot the bill a little too!

[Gary]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

WHOAH actually it is a small # of resellers that go dedicated when comparing the big picture. HG hosts hundreds if not thousands of resellers.

Thanks for that link. I didn't exactly mean A LOT, I know that it is a smaller percentage that go dedicated. I might be in that small percentage in the future hopefully if all runs well and if I need the extra resources or not; who knows, I might be stable with the resources a simple reseller package offers. I will be making my way to the bank in an hour or so to fix up my bank account and hopefully be able to buy a package here at HostGator.

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

it really depends on what you want to do. but a lot of the folks you'll find who take the time to go through the presales question threads are folks that are a little more invested in the community, so perhaps dedicated box owners are over-represented in this sample.

I can't wait until I am able to view the whole community... I can't even post in the 'Customer Reviews' forum...

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

And it does seem that the users that post regular are putting more of an effort to growing the business, but who knows what goes on with those that do not post?

Those people really could be the ones that only use the forum for support, have no time to visit the forum AS WELL AS deal with their sites and their business/es or simply couldn't be bothered. I know I will stay an active member here when I have everything running (not just for the support either).

Originally Posted by Goddess Dix

So I guess the investment of the posters depends a lot on their goals and perhaps personal code of informational ethics or something like that...

That's something I have done the past, and something I will do in the future. I am going to be using the forum to learn, which will give both myself and my business an advantage. If I know more, I know how to incorporate it into my business. If I stumble upon any problems then I know where to go to fix them. It's like reading a manual, just not in a step-by-step method.


Now this will most likely turn out to be a big post, sorry about the scrolling guys. I tried to cut down the quotes and keep my answers/comments simple...

[gwyneth]

Originally Posted by Gary

I can't wait until I am able to view the whole community... I can't even post in the 'Customer Reviews' forum...

Your status now looks like you've got full privileges...and I'll take the posting in Customer Reviews as humor because you're not a customer yet!