Does low cost mean low quality?

[1PlanHost]

Originally Posted by dasp

1. Saving on hardware cost - eg clone vs. brand names
2. Outsourcing customer support can save some money
3. Not paying licensing fees
4. Limiting support hours
Again, the list above are just some ways that hosts can lessen their operational cost and DOES NOT mean less quality service.

1. Using clone hardware vs name brand? - I'll take the reliability, performance and 4 hour replacement service of Dell PowerEdge servers over a clone anyday. Yes, you can indeed cut cost but at what expense for your customers in terms of reliability and performance?

3. Not paying licensing fees? Wow! That practice will get a hosting company in seriously deep trouble fast! Microsoft and others do not play around with companies stealing from them and will bring down some serious fines and legal action. Again, cutting cost like that DOES lessen the quality of service because a business who steals is one that will soon be out of business!

4. reducing or outsourcing support does not affect quality of service? Tell that to customers who demand more and more personal support service.

You do get what you pay for

Best Wishes for a .Net Success!

[GSTreasures]

Low cost shouldn't mean low quality. I am the owner of a home-based catalog business who is trying to establish a presence on the Internet. Since I haven't sold ANYTHING since November (I haven't gone anywhere due to cold weather), I'm pretty low on funds. I kinda feel like the different companies are playing games or price-wars with each other. I have complicated needs but have less than $50 to fund my semi-debut. I also think it is pretty rotten when reputable companies do not tell you everything you need to know. I am currently hosted with Yahoo, because I wanted to maintain an Internet presence, but you can't really buy anything off my site. I started out on one of the Merchant accounts, and worked hard at building my site. When I called customer service and asked why it wasn't working like it should, I was informed I needed to fork over $200-400 as a set-up fee to a merchant account provider of THEIR choice. Needless to say, they were all out of my price range. When I did find someone in my price range, I was elated, but cannot find anyone who matches my hosting critera and my mac price range.

Does anyone happen to know of a good provider with wysiwyg software/templates, support and acceptance of MS Access databases, that also does ecommerce so I can build a new store and offers all this (and more, hopefully) for less than $50? I'm complicated, I know, but surely there must be a GOOD match out there for me.

www.exotictreasuresgeneralstore.com , currently.

[HottWeelz]

Hi, I'm new here, but I'm concerned over the statement "No Such Thing As Unlimited Bandwidth"

I do not offer unlimited b/w to my customers, but I believe there is such thing. I manage my own actual data center.... not the jive a lot of people claim... they are my circuits, my servers, my routers, and Verizon, Comcast, Cox, all of them, never ever set a limit on me. Why would I "have" to set a limit on a customer?

There is such thing as "Unlimited Bandwidth"

I hope you guys aren't misinterpreting the term "Bandwidth" for speed.

[1PlanHost]

Actually, bandwidth indeed does have to do with speed. Data transfer and the term bandwidth are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are not the same and it is important to know the difference. Think of bandwidth as how fast data can be moved (how big is the pipe?) and data transfer as how much data is moved through the pipe during a given month. Occasionally one may see the term “Data transfer bandwidth” on web sites but that is not a correct terminology and can lead to confusion among customers. Web hosting companies often contribute to this as well by stating customer get x amount of bandwidth when they really mean x amount of data transfer per month.

I am surprised you would not see any type of caps on your actual bandwidth usage per month. I have been in the hosting business for over 9 years and have always paid for x amount of bandwidth (size of pipe) per month from major carriers such as WorldCom, AT&T, Qwest and Bell South. Most providers have a cap price at x amount of bandwidth and then provide a “burst” range up to higher levels. Many charge a set fee for the 95 percentile range. Usage above that 95% gets charged a higher rate than the lower contracted price when there are consistent increases in usage. For example, let’s say you contract for 20 Mbps Bandwidth at a rate of $4,000 per month but during the next month your requirements to support your customers needs jumps to 25 Mbps over 5% of the time in that month. Your provider would then charge $4,000 for the base rate PLUS a pre-negotiated rate over the base rate for the additional bandwidth you used. There are many arrangements for bandwidth contracts available so be sure to read and understand the fine print carefully.

Best Wishes for a .Net Success!

[lostworldx]

Low cost does not really mean low quality. The main factors that should determine the answer to your question is:

-Customer service
-Reliability
-Performance

Of course these are not the only factors that should be taken into consideration, however, speed of customer service, the uptime of the company's servers, and their servers' performance should all be taken into account.

--
Best Regards,

Andy Contreras
Exclusive Hosting Agent
LostWorldX Hosting Services

E-mail: andyc@lostworldx.com
URL: www.lostworldx.com

[nguyenth]

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[XzNetworks]

Quote: Does low cost mean low quality

Depends on the host, some yes, some not. What I have seen it doesn't matter. The company will offer the same amount of service to you if you buy the $1/month or the dedicated server.

[LSChosting]

I believe that some hosts will definately substitute quality for low costs. However, its certainly not always the case. I (LSC Web Hosting) offer plans from $3/mth for 400mb space/4000mb bandwidth, which is still below market averages, however i still have a 100% uptime record and extremely high level of customer satisfaction.

[wazeh]

Of course you have some valid points. For some hosts price can give a hint on the quality of service. But making a general rule could misslead. I think the best judgement can be made after evaluating the pricing structure of the host along with the features offered. In general, a price that is too high, or too low, both are suspecious. Best is to remain with midrange.

[aspnix]

Yes! it is possible to have low prices and good customer service. The ways can lower the price are different and most already described here.
Moreover, I'm sure that everything what bid hosts offer for $25 a month can be available to clients for $5 with the same customer service etc..
One of the main things customers really should pay attantion is the company's transparancy. We all know that it's impossible to have 100% uptime. We all know that there is no perfect services and features. In the same company one client can be happy for years and the other can be always be mad at support and on the 29th day ask for refund.
So it's all relative. Start looking at low priced companies. Read more about their features. See if they say their real location. See if the explain things very well. Before signing up email to support and see how fast they reply and make the best choice!

Kindest regards,
ASPnix Web Hosting
http://www.aspnix.com

PS: sometimes i have feeling that in this forum only web hosting companies talk to each other )) Good luck to everyone!