I think it matters. Vultr pushes ARM hard. They want the story: "look how cheap ARM is." Giving me $5.99 retention on ARM costs them almost nothing and gets them a user who talks about it on forums. I am the marketing.
X86 at $10? They don't care if you leave. Plenty of x86 users.
This thread is gold. Someone should wiki this.
My contribution:
- AWS Lightsail
- $3.50/mo first year
- $5/mo renewal
- retention: no, it's Amazon, they don't do retention
- contacted: yes, laughed at by support (politely)
The price jump is small but the principle is the same. Amazon does not negotiate with individuals. Enterprise is different story.
Member
This is why I just want my server to work. I am in Mexico City, I use whatever my cousin recommends. Now I learn I should ask about renewal? I did not know this was a thing. Thank you tinaworm.
Member OP
This is precisely the sample bias I identified. The informed minority negotiates. The uninformed majority pays sticker or complains in "horror story" threads without ever contacting support.
Welcome to the informed minority.
-t
Following.
Elitist much? Some people have jobs and kids and don't have time to haggle with support over $3/month. The "just ask" framing ignores that the whole business model depends on people NOT asking.
Don't blame users for designed friction.
Member OP
I do not dispute that the model exploits inattention. My claim is narrower: given that the friction exists, individual mitigation is possible and underreported. Structural critique and individual tactics are not mutually exclusive.
I would welcome a parallel thread on regulatory approaches. This thread is pragmatic.
-t
Has anyone tried this with domain registrars? Same principle? I got Namecheap at $9 then $19 and never asked.
Member OP
Different thread, but briefly: registrar retention is weaker. ICANN rules create switching costs, so providers have less incentive to retain. Cloud hosting has lower switching costs, hence more flexibility.
Please start a separate thread if you want systematic data. This one is compute-only.
-t
