Portal Home > Knowledgebase > Articles Database > My experiences: Expensive vs. cheap
My experiences: Expensive vs. cheap
| Posted by smallhagrid, 03-12-2013, 11:11 PM |
| It's finally time to say something here after using this site silently for years now=>
Thanks WHT, you've been a great and appreciated resource for my minimal hosting needs.
Reseller hosting can be useful for someone like me who has general IT skills and serves a select few clients rather than trying to get bigger & bigger via selling, which I seriously hate doing.
This has helped them in ditching the rip-offs they ignorantly got roped into, mostly via 'web-artists' who took advantage of that and charged high fees because they could.
So=> I'm not some super-skilled hosting & server dude, but I'm not a total noob either, I get by OK & make mistakes too.
In the years since I started using reseller hosting I went from paying for overpriced services when I knew no better, to trying cheap and/or new providers just to get an idea of the lay of the land.
What I've seen kind of surprises me...
Once or twice the overpriced ones just dried up and blew away with zero warning; and after that happened a couple of times I'd gone over to K-disk because of it's great rep., and it went seriously bad - also with zero warning.
From there I looked around alot and decided to try Semoweb, whose owner WAS quite attentive (for a while) and just for yuks, also signed up at Jolly Works.
Semo started out great - but has really gotten very poor; WAY too much downtime with very slow support response time.
I think it tried growing too fast and may have off-shored all it's tech support as well.
Jolly Works has always been (just) OK, but in the same time period has not changed at all, so I'm inclined to trust it more than one which looks to be in decline.
I've also started using another provider whom I'll leave out as it's only been a few months there.
My conclusions thus far:
- Unless they are HUGE companies like Hostgator or Godaddy all the reseller hosting I've been exposed to thus far is about the same.
- Alot of the providers are really a one-man show.
- Alot of these folks want to get BIG as fast as they can.
- Most seem to get worn-out and just burn out from overwork.
- Pay a little or pay a lot - IMO it's ALL a krap shoot.
Maybe someday if I have some extra bucks I'll try running my own server & hosting for my few clients, but from what I can see it is a work that eats you alive and needs constant attention.
|
| Posted by Dustin B Cisneros, 03-13-2013, 12:18 AM |
| Hello,
First off, I'd like to thank you for choosing us! Secondly welcome to WHT! I see you mentioned you've been using the site "silently" for years, was that as an unregistered member?
I certainly want to prove and ensure you remain happy with our services! Please provide me with the details (privately to maintain your privacy and account security).
Thank you!
Dustin
Last edited by the_pm; 03-13-2013 at 10:16 AM.
Reason: company history, mission, values and other promotional talk removed
|
| Posted by smallhagrid, 03-13-2013, 12:58 AM |
| I appreciate the reply Dustin.
(But I cannot agree that Semoweb 'rocks'...)
With almost daily downtimes and when support tickets are answered by folks who seem to be non-english speakers that evade direct questions, that got old even with the very light usage I've got.
Even my free hosting via '000' has been more reliable - and the one account I use daily on your service has been so much less than dependable for so long now that I've already begun migrating to another hosting service.
My clients are another story though, and I've had to take measures to be sure they remain ignorant of Semoweb's frequent downtimes.
Personally - you seem like a nice guy with good intentions and I wish you well.
If I were to bill you at my lowest hourly rate just for the time I've wasted just trying to keep my own account working at your service, it would be much more than the annual fee for your service...and you cannot blame me for tiring of such wasted time.
I only just joined here today after using the site for sourcing, for years - there was no need to post and I just chose to share what I've learned here today, that's all.
This site is not allowing me to PM you yet, and given that I've already taken on some new services with the goal of replacing yours after all the time I've wasted trying to get things right with you and your 'techs', I must openly doubt that there is anything you can do to replace my lost time.
Last edited by smallhagrid; 03-13-2013 at 01:05 AM.
Reason: site restrictions for new users
|
| Posted by Dustin B Cisneros, 03-13-2013, 01:12 AM |
| Hello,
I fully respect your point of view, how ever as a commitment to providing excellent service I'm eager to investigate your specific issues, and I can agree with you, my intentions are always positive.
Perhaps private e-mail works? I know you're a newly registered member as such are unable to take advantage of the many functions.
My direct e-mail is dustin( @ ) semoweb.com
Thanks,
Dustin
|
| Posted by StarWebHosting, 03-13-2013, 04:28 AM |
| I think with a little research you can find providers that are not huge but provide very good service. Its always worth finding out a little bit what they are about and I would go for a host that offers a money back offer if your going down the reseller route. Have you thought about going with a managed VPS package so you get the independence to run your own server with professional help if needed.
|
| Posted by DWS2006, 03-13-2013, 09:04 AM |
| smallhagrid did you ever ask Semoweb about getting transferred to a different server? Sometimes you'll just have a system that is not particularly stable. This could be caused by the specific group of users on the server or a hard to diagnose HW problem.
I had an account with them for testing and never experienced any downtime, I believe I was on server 9.
|
| Posted by Host4Geeks-Kushal, 03-13-2013, 10:59 AM |
| I second this. Almost any provider will migrate you over to another server of theirs if you are experiencing issues with the one you are on. Dd you ask SemoWeb the reason for the downtimes? Were clients informed about it or given a description about the porblem once everything was stable?
|
| Posted by smallhagrid, 03-14-2013, 05:21 PM |
| Thanks for the thoughtful replies folks.
Yes:But frankly that exceeds both my experience level and my needs.
A very wise observation, and likely correct too:
Back when Dustin was doing the support that option was offered, but right after that offer from him it seemed as if he quit doing support and those who replied did so in such a manner as to inspire zero confidence.
Another great & revealing bit of wisdom here !!:
Many, many times, and only ever got some vague replies a couple of times pointing the blame at users with no further explanation given.
No downtimes have been posted in their status page either, though it does often show both servers 9 & 33 as being down.
Nope:
From what I can see providers often omit any mentions of downtimes hoping they will go un-noticed and hence must never have happened ?!?
Transparency & honesty have been sorely lacking in ALL the reseller hosting services I've used in the years since using this kind of service.
Last edited by smallhagrid; 03-14-2013 at 05:24 PM.
Reason: mistakes.
|
| Posted by ValentineC, 03-16-2013, 03:56 PM |
| This is a fantastic post. Thumbs up!
I should add that it's dangerous concentrating all that trust in a single person, especially in a one-person company without standardized operating procedures.
I've recently been burnt by a one-man show who thought it fit to delete my accounts due to spam from a rogue script, and then wish to stop communication with me as he thought the matter resolved. Full report coming soon!
|
| Posted by smallhagrid, 03-16-2013, 08:31 PM |
| Thank you:
After enough bad experiences based upon the advice NEVER to use cheaper reseller hosting, I found some tricks which have allowed me to be a bit braver in my hosting choices as well as better prepared for downtimes.
I would PM some info to you ValentineC, but that function is not open to me here and I don't know what I have to do to get it...?
Right now I'm using a couple of really cheap reseller hosting places and a couple of well-reputed middle-priced ones.
I've a good hosting/client backup script that I found here and got on special, and a single-user one that was free besides.
And there's two other tricks that work well despite how simple they are (but I won't post them openly here as I prefer to avoid the snarky and/or overly critical kinds of replies I've seen here so often).
|
| Posted by Server Management, 03-16-2013, 10:27 PM |
| Hello,
If you pick a poor oversold provider then you will notice problems at any level which you pay.
I recommend when starting with any provider go for their smallest package on a month to month basis then simply upgrade or leave if they don't match your level of requirements over the course of a month or two.
|
| Posted by ValentineC, 03-17-2013, 05:47 AM |
| I believe you might have to post more. I don't have many posts myself but I didn't have any problems PM-ing Dustin.
|
| Posted by GreenValueHostGM, 03-17-2013, 04:35 PM |
| Are you serious?
Now I really know what your intentions are: to libel and slander Hosting Cove for something that you should have been responsible for.
How can they be a one man show and offer 24/7 technical support?
|
| Posted by SPINIKR-RO, 03-17-2013, 04:44 PM |
| Just because I handle most cases and tickets does not mean I am a one man show. I have help during Asia Pacific times as well as one on the dev side of things. I suspect by Q3 to have another full timer. Most tickets are handled in under a hour, I think this months total average is around 32 minutes day and night.
For anyone's reference this person is angry because they failed resolve communication and abuse issues over a period of a few days : http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1247921
|
| Posted by ValentineC, 03-18-2013, 06:48 AM |
| It isn't libel if it is true.
I have not made any statements about the existence or quality of 24/7 support. All I said was that I was burnt by the one person at the top who had the decision-making power.
|
Add to Favourites 
Print this Article
Also Read
Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting
