Member
Cogent is the Ryanair of transit. Gets you there, usually, with enough discomfort that you consider alternatives next time. But they're so cheap that providers keep using them.
From Bristol I see Cogent on budget routes to US East Coast. Fine for bulk, painful for interactive.
Late arrival asking something already covered: does Vultr ever negotiate? Saw mixed answers.
From the thread: no. They do not. Save your time.
This was answered in like turn 5 and again at turn 70. Reading is hard.
Welcome to forums. The same question arrives every 20 turns. We are patient because we were once the person who didn't read.
Vultr: no. Confirmed by multiple people across multiple years. Their API is their value, not their sales flexibility.
Another late arrival with a question not quite covered: has anyone negotiated with OVHcloud on their domain pricing? I transfer domains in bulk and their per-domain price is higher than some specialists.
Or is this thread strictly VPS?
Member
Different product, same company, but different sales team. I've found OVHcloud domains are "take it or leave it" on price. Their value is the integration with their hosting, not the domain price.
For bulk domains I use Porkbun or Namesilo. No negotiation needed, their listed price is already fair.
Thanks. That's what I suspected. OVHcloud's domain pricing is convenience tax, same as their VPS — https://www.ovhcloud.com/en/vps/ — is sometimes.
Will check Porkbun. Thread has been useful despite my off-topic question.
Keysales here. I sell hosting as a side business. The techniques in this thread work on me too, by the way. When a customer mentions they have a quote from someone else, I sharpen my pencil.
The difference is I have less margin to cut than Hetzner. So my "discount" is usually throwing in a free SSL or migration, not real money off.
Small resellers: we're people too. Mentioning competitor price works, just expect smaller absolute savings.
Member
Montreal reseller confirming. I can't match Hetzner on raw price, but I can answer a ticket at 2am in French. That's worth something to some people.
Negotiation with small resellers is more about service bundling than price cutting.
Member
Zagreb here. I host for people who ask me at parties. Which is to say, I'm a small reseller who doesn't advertise.
I don't negotiate because my prices are already "friend prices." If they ask for discount I explain that this includes me fixing their WordPress at 11pm. The value is the relationship.
Different model entirely from the VPS providers in this thread.
And an important one. The thread started with "negotiating with providers" but the real lesson is knowing which kind of provider you're dealing with.
Commodity VPS (Hetzner, Vultr, OVHcloud): negotiate on price, expect variable results.
Managed / reseller (KnownHost, small hosts): negotiate on service, expect bundling.
Relationship host (petra, keysales): negotiate on scope, expect human flexibility.
Wrong technique on wrong provider wastes everyone's time.
