Ask HN: tips for negotiating with rackspace?

5 points·andrewtbham··7 comments

i have several times gotten quotes from rackspace for dedicated servers. it usually goes like this. i ask for a discount, they offer to waive the setup fee if I sign it by the end of the day, but they don't offer to lower the monthly recurring fee. Any advice?

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If you want a discount dedicated server try web hosting talk forums. Here is one for dedicated server offers: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=36

I like WebNX, but there are plenty of options depending on what you need and where you want it.

Web hosting talk forums are a great place hosting deals.

Why is this getting downvoted?

Rackspace isn't anymore reliable than any other reputable provider. Every network/host will go down, the main question is how fast can they recover and how good is your backup strategy. You could save a lot by looking elsewhere. The last time I checked their pricing I would have been able to host at two places for what Rackspace wanted.

What do they say when you offer to pay yearly? Maybe they have a little more power if you can do it that way. Or hell - just come out and say it: "I will sign a one year agreement this instant if you can make it $x per month with no setup fee."

Rackspace is not cheap. Probably not great for price sensitive customers.

You might try showing them pricing from a competitor for a comparable product and requesting that they price match. They might at least try to come close.

Generally I don't recommend rackspace, but reliability is a huge concern for this customer.

I took your approach once in the past... I showed them a price sheet from the planet and they sent me a presentation about how their service is superior. It was quite compelling.

Try Serverbeach.

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