[iPrivate]

I've lately though of creating a hosting company related to SA:MP and all the other games, but first starting off by SA:MP. I already got the VPS that can handle enough servers freely, but I do not know how the people will think about 'buying' a server from my hosting company.

I am pretty new to the market and I though of making 'most cheap' prices to handle the 'competition' that is being created through all of those hosting companies around those times. My suggestion of the company prices were around 0.07$ per slot and also, for first use (buy) you would get a 35% off the price.

I am not creating this thread to advertise in any kind, but I want to know if there would ever be people who would like to buy with those prices. There might be people who do not like the price or even who do not want to buy from kind of 'untrusted' company.

We will get a licensed GameCP panel and also the VPS is good enough to handle all the servers that might be created. I wanted to see how many customers I would have the first month and than I would upgrade the VPS to a better one because I am not in 'cut' of money.

So, just tell me your ideas about the whole 'hosting company' project and tell me what you think of it.

Thanks for everything.

[Kyle]

For a start a VPS just won't cut it, you need a dedicated server.

GameCP in my opinion isn't very good, it's hard to control and navigate around, use TCAdmin.

Plus creating a company is alot of work, you need capital, and alot of it, were talking atleast 700-800 dollars. You need to be able to afford to make a loss each month for atleast 4-5 months before you see any return from it.

[Bingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyleSmith For a start a VPS just won't cut it, you need a dedicated server. GameCP in my opinion isn't very good, it's hard to control and navigate around, use TCAdmin. Plus creating a company is alot of work, you need capital, and alot of it, taking atleast 700-800 dollars. You need to be able to afford to make a loss each month for atleast 4-5 months before you see any return from it.

This.

And you need many protections, Controling issues, problems. In other words its a game of money. Loss and profit. When it comes as loss sometimes it might lead to closing of company.

[Ironboy500[TW]]

No. Don't.

Market is filled with game hosting companies these days. Why should one choose just right you? Almost every company uses GameCP/TCadmin and WHMCS billing. And if you ask me 0,07$ leaves an impression you are using cheap hardware.

As others have already mentioned, VPS is not good. You will be sharing hardware with lots of other clients, you know nothing about them, way they are using resources, your servers will perform bad, lots of downtime, lag... I'm quire sure you don't want that to happen.

So yea, purchase a decent dedicated server, get a nice design (first impression is important), reliable support team and I'm sure you won't have troubles finding clients who are willing to pay more than 0,07$/slot for your services.

[carz0159]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iPrivate I've lately though of creating a hosting company related to SA:MP and all the other games, but first starting off by SA:MP. I already got the VPS that can handle enough servers freely, but I do not know how the people will think about 'buying' a server from my hosting company. I am pretty new to the market and I though of making 'most cheap' prices to handle the 'competition' that is being created through all of those hosting companies around those times. My suggestion of the company prices were around 0.07$ per slot and also, for first use (buy) you would get a 35% off the price. I am not creating this thread to advertise in any kind, but I want to know if there would ever be people who would like to buy with those prices. There might be people who do not like the price or even who do not want to buy from kind of 'untrusted' company. We will get a licensed GameCP panel and also the VPS is good enough to handle all the servers that might be created. I wanted to see how many customers I would have the first month and than I would upgrade the VPS to a better one because I am not in 'cut' of money. So, just tell me your ideas about the whole 'hosting company' project and tell me what you think of it. Thanks for everything.

The prices are decent, but there are a few companies who charge less, at .05 USD /slot.

I also recommend TCAdmin. It may be more expensive, but it is worth it. I use it and have had great success with it.

I wouldn't recommend to start in SAMP, you won't make any money at all. Most people who buy over 50 slots just get a VPS as it allows more freedom and options.

SAMP is a decently hard market to get into, I would try to start with MineCraft or something similar where you can make a decent amount of money /month from one sale. SAMP, if someone got lets say 35 slots, thats just about $2.07 USD after paypal fees. I would recommend getting a dedi, not a VPS. you will need the dedicated CPU later, and transferring is such a PITA because of IP changes. So if you get a good deal, and lets say $70 for a shitty dedi, you would need to sell 35 35 slot samp servers just to break even. Add in domain, ssl, and tcadmin, comes to about another $20/month. Another 10 servers needed.

And, it is not that easy to get sales in SAMP even if you offer great prices, support, quality hardware.

The market just isn't here anymore. You would need to get into the official host list as well to get sales. It's not hard, but is time consuming as it takes at least 2-3 weeks to get KingJ to update it.

Again, don't expect any profit for at least half year. That's about $600 in expenses that you would have, if you have a shitty server with tcadmin and the works.

It is a lot of work, and I just personally wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemies as most people try to start it up, spend at least 300-400 USD on it, just to close it after a few months and lose all the money.

One friend was smart enough to do things right though, and he spend about 4k starting it up, after a few months, it wasn't doing well; but he managed to sell it for a decent amount. Again, he did legally start the company, LLC/S-Corp/C-Corp. And, got a lawyer to register slogans, logos, pictures, and the works. He also owned a server the he colocated.

It is very costly, and alot of round the clock work. You would need to provide great support to people who know nothing about samp all the time, not just 9-5, but 24h/day. You might need to involve friends or family, but it needs to be done. That is one of the most important parts of a small hosting company, great support. You will also need to legally register it, in order to provide assurance that it is not just going to disappear next month. It is expensive, expect to pay at least $400 USD.

You will need DDoS mitigation. It is necessary for SAMP. Some kid will DDoS your server in 10 minutes and your host will suspend your VPS. This is another expense.

[NewerthRoleplay]

There are so many hosting companies why add to the list for something that is not guaranteed a return. And the whole VPS thing isn't very smart, you'll need a dedicated server using virtual hardware to run even a semi-serious hosting company isn't a great idea. Oh and if you are going to carry on with your plan which nobody will stop you from doing so, I'd suggest to not ignore the legalities.

[iPrivate]

I know that a dedicated server would be times better, but I always though of the capital. Carz, your discussion made me change my mind totally. I'm pointed more on the "why entering on a road without return" because you cannot leave it like there on the middle of the street. Thanks for everyone replies.

[Naruto_Emilio]

I would say 300 euros are enough to start a small hosting company, but the most important is, how to attract clients.

[carz0159]

Quote:

Originally Posted by iPrivate I know that a dedicated server would be times better, but I always though of the capital. Carz, your discussion made me change my mind totally. I'm pointed more on the "why entering on a road without return" because you cannot leave it like there on the middle of the street. Thanks for everyone replies.

No problem. I'm just here to help. If you ever do decide to make a company. PM me for some pointers. . I can't believe the amount of times little kids have asked on skype for a job, which is something I left out.

Underqualified kids will never stop bugging you. Oh, and WHMCS is another $16/month. There are cheaper billing solutions out there, but none nearly as good. You would also need a verified Paypal (SSN or Bank Account linked). No way around that, a credit card is not good enough. You will need to have a verified paypal in order to accept payments through your website.

[GWMPT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carz0159 You will need to have a verified paypal in order to accept payments through your website.

Last time i had used the paypal IPN to receive payments notification in the website[around 1 year ago],i didn't had my paypal account verified and it worked perfectly.

However, it that happens currently, i don't know, since my paypal account is currently verified.

@OP
If you want to have a hosting company, you need to invest on it.
Starting with a VPS is the worst thing you can do, seriously.


As well, prepare your pocket to be raped until you start getting enough clients to pay the expenses it gives to you.

About the correct money you are going to spend... i can't say, neither most of the people.
Depends on the datacenter which you are going to host on, the dedicated server you rent, the software you rent / buy, in the domain name you are going to use and so on.