I've been looking at ways to make some extra money to supplement my income and Hosting Reselling seems promising, but it also sounds like it might be one of those 'a bit too good to be true' kind of things.

Has anyone here tried it or know anyone who does?
I presume as long as the company you buy the hosting from is reputable and the hosting is good then the main job is just marketing it. But with so many people selling hosting is it possible to make money from it?

I've been quite enjoying working with Javascript and other web based programming so I'd probably try and offer some extra stuff (template websites, maybe design services, ready to go ecommerce sites that kind of thing) to add value and draw people in.

I'm not looking to make a full time income from it, just £100 - £200 a month would be nice and anything more a bonus.

Before I start putting any money into it I'd like some genuine opinions as I find that most of the people talking about it online are trying to sell you something or want you to use their affiliate link to sign up to a service they recommend, so it's hard to trust them. So this being the only online community I frequent, and knowing there are a lot of web designers and techie types, I hope there might be some people with a little experience about.

Thanks :)

Bump.

No one has tried this?

A friend of mine did something like this - will send them a text and see if I can rustle up a response from them for you.

It is not an easy niche, and since the main job is marketing, you might as well market something easier.

Thanks Sachys, it would be much appreciated :) Yeah, I suppose that's a good point. I'm thinking as it's at least an area I'm interested in I might find it easier to market but with so many other people and companies out there doing it still might not be worth it.

Thats pretty much what I've just recieved back from my mate - he said he only really made money from it as a secondary thing to building websites and the likes - so essentially worth keeping on the back burner, but not as a viable form of income on its own.

On that note, if you decide to keep the option open, let me know and if any of my clients ask about webhosting etc I can pass them on (well, if they're actually in need of anything more than a tarted up blogspot at least).

Thanks.
It did sound a bit too good to be true for it to be that easy to make money...

I'll think about it. If I had more confidence in my skills as a web designer I'd try that avenue, but I don't really think I've got the knowledge and talent for that one...

thats just one persons experience though - I'd wait and see any other input before making a solid choice.

I certainly won't rule it out, but I'm thinking to make it worth while I might need something else to really add value to it, so I could sell more than just hosting.
Unfortunately if I had such a thing I could probably sell that instead... XD

I've found a place that does it fairly cheaply (although I'm wondering what the catch is there) so I might just give it a try for a few months and see if there are any takers... the upside I suppose is that if I can get any customers the fact it's subscriptions should mean it would be fairly easy to maintain after a certain point.

Heres a thought - if you go with it, contact the Princes Trust outreach manager for your area, and arrange with them a discount for any new startup businesses - used to get a lot of work my way from them.

Edit: in conjuntion with that, team up with a graphic designer and web designer you know to offer package deals - that way you're all promoting it to boot, and offering a solid service.

:D

That's a great idea, I know the Princes Trust people around here really well because they helped us get the pizza van going. And I have no problem doing some good cheap packages for new start ups and such....

Hmmmm, that's definitely something to think about.

As for the second bit, if I knew any I would... I'm not exactly a social person and don't have a network of friends or acquaintances...

You might find some through the princes trust.

Also, you should offer a (DRM) free pizza with all purchases! ;)

True :)

Hehe, if I thought anyone around here would get it I would offer a DRM Free special or something...

But nothing wrong with offering people free pizza, get them coming to the van and make more money there too! ;)

Thanks Sachys, given me something to think about there.

Ok that is true, it is much easier to write proper content yourself when you are interested in it. I am interested in stocks, trading, wall street and stuff, so one of my first attemps was http://www.broker-vergleich.com/ , also a very competitive field, but being able to produce content yourself is an advantage.