Tried twice. First time: no response for 5 days, then "our prices are final." Second time: offered extra IP and slightly more bandwidth, no price movement.
Their value is the location variety (Oslo! Zurich! Hong Kong!) not the price. For cheap compute, RackNerd https://www.racknerd.com wins. For specific geography, HostHatch has fewer competitors.
Member
This is true my friend. For Turkey, HostHatch Amsterdam is good option. For Hong Kong, almost nobody else cheap. They know this, so no need to negotiate.
I still use them for Hong Kong VPS. Pay full price, get what I need.
Late to thread but relevant: I negotiated with KnownHost by mentioning I was a reseller with multiple clients. Got their reseller plan at 20% off first year plus waived setup fee.
The "reseller" angle works even if you only have two clients. Sales sees volume potential.
Member
Confirming from Montreal. I lead with "I manage 15 WordPress sites" even though 12 of them are family members who don't pay me. KnownHost treats it as a reseller conversation.
The key is sounding like you know what WHMCS is. Say "I need migration assistance for my client accounts" and you're in the right bucket.
Member
I'm back. Read the whole thread. Thank you all for explaining that I shouldn't negotiate my $6 shared hosting.
Set a calendar reminder for renewal. Will check if price jumps. That's my actionable takeaway.
Also learned more about ZFS than I expected. My shop's website does not need ZFS.
Correct. It needs backups and a provider that doesn't triple the price on renewal. You have the right priority.
ZFS is for people who have already solved the basic problems and are looking for new problems.
Heresy. ZFS IS the basic problem solver. Snapshots replace backups. Checksumming replaces worry. Compression replaces... bigger disks.
Everyone needs ZFS. They just don't know it yet.
I am not engaging. The thread is about VPS negotiation. I will not be drawn into another ZFS debate with you.
Hetzner's Storage Box supports SFTP, RSYNC, and SMB. No ZFS required. Moving on.
Final summary from original poster, since this thread has run its course:
Techniques that worked for me:
- Mention competitor price: Hetzner 20%, InterServer 10% (but bravomartha got 15%)
- Mention annual prepay: OVHcloud 15%, Hostinger 25% (with BGP angle)
- Mention BGP session: Hostinger 25% (provider-specific, has floor)
- "I'm leaving": Vultr 0%, they literally don't care
Techniques that didn't work:
- RackNerd negotiation: no
- CloudCone negotiation: no
- Vultr any angle: no
- Hetzner Storage Box: no
New finding: renewal price stability matters more than first-year discount. Hetzner and InterServer win on TCO. Hostinger wins first year, loses long term.
Thanks all for the data points. Special thanks to LichunLars for routing reality checks and randyaround for unexpected ZFS interludes.
Member
Happy to provide actual measurements instead of marketing claims. My traceroute script runs weekly against all these providers, happy to share raw data if anyone wants.
The Cogent-heavy routes are getting worse, not better. Budget providers love Cogent for cost, hate it for latency variance. This will not change.
