Reseller Defined

Ashish · 02-24-2005, 10:33 PM

hi,

this is a article of sorts which should be useful for people who are thinking of becoming resellers or have recently started a reseller business

The term Reseller according to a dictionary means to sell again i.e. To sell a product or service to the public or to an end user, especially as an authorized dealer while making sure that you make a profit on the sale.

Reseller Hosting

Reseller hosting is no different either, a reseller buys a Web hosting package from a hosting company and tries to sell it independently. The profit for the reseller lies in either the discount or the commission s/he gets from selling an account.

For example: The reseller might purchase a package whose features are valued at $100 for $90. So, the reseller stands to make a $10 profit on selling the package to customers. Normally, as the customers increase so does the profit margin for the reseller.

Or you can get some money by earning commissions from the hosting company, this happens when you refer potential customers to the hosting company, if the customer signs up with the company then you earn a small recurring commission until the customer uses the services.

Most web hosting companies try to outsource their services to resellers as it helps them to extend their business reach without the cost of marketing and sales and helps them to concentrate on the business side of things.

What can be resold

As a reseller you can decide what kinds of services you can sell.
You can provide shared, dedicated or co-location web hosting or merchant accounts, store fronts etc.

If you go with hosting then it might be useful to offer some other hosting related services like domain names, Search engines etc.

Of course, if you have problems selling these sort of value added services in the beginning then you can sell them later.

The cost and resources involved

The cost of becoming a reseller and the equipment and people required in order to be a successful depends on a lot of factors.

If you just plan to earn commission by referring people to the hosting company using by using the internet then you do not have to put up a lot of money, all you need is a internet ready PC and a internet connection.

For a small start-up not a lot of money and resources are required. You can purchase a good reseller package from a hosting company by paying them some money upfront. A decent computer which can manage the account of customers and a good internet connection are all that is needed.

It is advisable in fact to start small if you are very new to the concept of web hosting and reselling and then expand as you go on and start getting more and more customers in which case offering domain registration is also a very good way to make profits.

If you have the money and the experience then you can go as far as buying all the server equipment required. In which case you will also be responsible for all the server maintenance costs.

The other option could be to leasing a server this will be cheaper then buying the server but here as well you are responsible for all the maintenance and running cost of the server.

In the above two cases you also need to make sure that you have multiple connections with the hosting company so there are no complications in case a connection goes down.

Upside

The best thing about being a reseller is that you do not require a lot of upfront investment.

There is no need to have a lot of technical knowledge. Account management and Internet skills are all that is required. However, it would be really handy if you have some sales and marketing experience so you can interact with your customers better.

The hosting company generally provides and maintains all the hardware and software.

You do not need to hire a lot of IT staff to provide support. Providing basic support and leaving the more technical issues to the parent company support staff can be done.

Downside

Support can sometimes be delayed, as you are dependent on the parent company to handle the technical aspects and if there is a delay from their side then you along with your customer are affected.

Sometimes customers leave you if they find out that you are a reseller and not a real hosting company.

Tips for marketing yourself

If you are starting out on a small scale then visiting message boards and posting your services there is a good idea. A lot of potential client with relatively small hosting need also frequent message boards and outline their hosting needs.

Having contests is a great idea for bringing awareness about your services.

Online ad campaigns, signatures, text links are very helpful techniques.

Once you have got a bigger budget then you can go for google ad words or PPC search engines.

The best strategy is to try out various combinations of these approaches and work out the best one for your needs.

noob_0001 · 02-27-2005, 10:09 PM

Who are some good reseller companies to get involved with?

Jonathan VanSchaack · 02-27-2005, 10:25 PM

www.hostdetective.net

lists some hosting companies that do reselling accounts and/or plans

noob_0001 · 02-28-2005, 02:54 PM

Thanks Jonathan VanSchaack

Jason · 03-01-2005, 10:08 AM

Ashish- your second big explanation!

Ashish · 03-15-2005, 10:24 PM

hi jason,

i am not sure i understand what you are trying to say there.. care to explain??

Jonathan VanSchaack · 03-16-2005, 07:39 AM

he's just saying you type alot :-p, or hire someone to type alot either way good article

Ashish · 03-17-2005, 12:29 AM

haha,

well actually no i did not hire someone to type it for me

pinkfluffybunny · 03-31-2005, 11:44 AM

Another lame advertiser

Rivux · 03-31-2005, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkfluffybunny

Another lame advertiser

another lame post

Jazzee · 03-31-2005, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkfluffybunny

Another lame advertiser

pinkfluffybunny - check your pm's.

Jonathan VanSchaack · 03-31-2005, 04:13 PM

heh, pinkbunny thing, I dont see how your saying this is another advertiser, they do not even mention there business what so ever in the article

Ashish · 03-31-2005, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkfluffybunny

Another lame advertiser

oh i dont blame you for thinking that i am a advertiser considering what you said here.... http://www.v7n.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18552
guess you are always confused!!!!!!!

and thanks to everyone else for supporting me.... you guys probably dont know how discouraging it is read such sort of sinde comments about your hard work and good intentions.....

Jonathan VanSchaack · 04-02-2005, 11:47 AM

heh

dont take it as a complement, i'd do it for everyone, your not special

:-p

Ashish · 04-07-2005, 10:00 PM

hi there,

well i am not saying that i am special or something... but its good to see that there are some people who can distinguish the right from the wrong

Jonathan VanSchaack · 04-08-2005, 06:16 AM

zcoder · 04-11-2005, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pinkfluffybunny

Another lame advertiser

Not good, NOTgood at all.

That was an attack on a members of this forum with no
evidence of it being a advertisment or (SPAM)

(1) I would like to know what you was thinking? where your brain was at, at the time.

(2) Do you FEAR SPAM? is SPAM a threat to you? (your email box must be full of spam and you have nightmares, right?)

(3) Do just like to pick on people? make stuff up? (read things into what is not there?)

(4) or did you just type without any thought? (do you tend to do things without thinking)

In my openion you spoke out of line.
Oh, but I have had this done to me on this forum and I am new, and it was becouse I was new (With few posts made it must be a spam post)

Remembers NEW members start at 0 post, please do not accuss members of
SPAM, ask them more about their post(what the reason was behind the post) or tell them the rules or where they can read the rules. try to reframe from accussing other members.

Zcoder....