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What do you think when a provider insists on trying to sell annual plan?
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What do you think when a provider insists on trying to sell annual plan?

I have my opinion.

It is good to the provider to have a client for long time. It can be good to the client as he/she will pay less in long run. But when you can not START a service if you do not pay an annual plan or it comes without a few features... I think it is good to try to see a few reviews from this company.

What is your experience?

Comments

  • century1stopcentury1stop Member
    edited March 2015

    let's put it this way, I would never start off with any provider or vendor with long term commitment. trust must be gained, not forced.

    it's like I hold you at gun point and ask you if I'm nice :)

  • @century1stop said:
    it's like I hold you at gun point and ask you if I'm nice :)

    Well, obviously you are nice enough to ask his opinion, so... :D

  • @deadbeef said:
    hahaha

  • Hahahahaha

    Yes, it is difficult to force trust.

    :)

  • My company hosts a very cheap annual plan with low specs for around £19 a year - I personally think it attracts people who may just want to get into using a VPS and etc - However when companies do large plans for high prices for a annual then not so a good idea :o

  • MaouniqueMaounique Host Rep, Veteran

    small price monthly-paypal eats all, almost free IP to abuse, a large plan annually, no, though.

  • I prefer yearly servers. I have too many to keep track of monthly. I also opt for more smaller servers than fewer big ones, so i have no problem dropping $10 or $15 on a yearly deal from an unknown provider.

  • I think that such a provider is reasonable. It doesn't make sense when getting the money (fees, bookkeeping) eats up the margin.

    Moreover I have yet to experience a provider who does not offer some way of testing, be it by a free test for some days or be it by a "you can leave within 30 days and get back your money".
    Also I beg to consider the proportions. I mean 25$ or 50$ is a risk that is well manageable for most of us. And you get something for it; any halfway reasonable provider understands that symbol of trust and will try to justify it.

  • wychwych Member

    Depends on the actual service I am buying to be honest.

    e.g. paying yearly for a 128mb box is standard now due to saving on fees as what Mao said.

    If I was buying dedicated for example I would think of starting small then potentially paying longer term (again depends on savings vs risk and who they are).

  • KuJoeKuJoe Member, Host Rep

    The primary reason why annual billing terms are better for providers are the payment gateway fees like @Maounique mentioned. Let's do some quick math using Paypal and a $12/year VPS as an example (assuming the buyer and seller are both in the United States, if it is a cross-country transaction, the fees will be higher and even more so if there's a currency conversion so in this example this will be the CHEAPEST fees you can see with the standard business Paypal account doing under $3000 in sales per month):

    $12/year paid annually - $0.65 in Paypal fees = $11.35 income for the provider
    $1/month - $0.33 in Paypal fees * 12 months = $8.04 income for the provider

    So yes, it's more profitable for a provider to accept only annual payments for such small transactions. The spam aspect is also there, we used to offer a monthly payment option for our 64MB plan for those who opened a ticket but 100% (yes, every single one of them) got our IPs blacklisted within 48 hours and our "profit" didn't even cover the time it took me get them delisted.

    Thanked by 2Jonchun gestiondbi
  • VirMachVirMach Member, Patron Provider

    Other than payment gateway fees, the commitment you make will generally be enough to make sure servers are filled properly. A lot of times, people will purchase it for a year and then stop using it halfway through, so providers can provide discounts. Some providers, however, offer a price so low that they cannot sustain it and that's when things go wrong. Then there's people who strictly enforce their terms for annual users to try to get rid of them, which is awful. I would definitely recommend going with annual if you plan on using the services and if the price is not outrageously low compared to the monthly cost. In addition, make sure the provider's been around for at least about a year. I think yearly plans are great for everyone.

  • VPSSLIMVPSSLIM Patron Provider, Veteran

    Just do some research first when doing annual payment. (I.E. how long has the company been offering services etc.).

  • I don't think it's good to insist anything to anyone :)

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