I already pay through my nose for the Mosso master hosting account (USD 100 per month) that I use as a part of package deals for my website and blogging clients. I decided to check out Bluehost not because I wanted to change my host, but in an effort to get more information so I can present more options to my clients (current and prospective). I was looking to sign up for their affiliate program (I eventually did).
One oddity that I found while signing up for the affiliate program was that although the account will be sold for USD 6.95 per month, the affiliate on making a sale would get somewhere in the range of 8 to 9 times more. What the? And then I read that they have one of the best affiliate programs on the web! No shit! You pay 6.95 to Bluehost through me, and I get 9 times more than that? I was obviously missing something here, so I opened up thier live sales chat window, and the conversation went something like this:
Light M. [8:46:56 AM]: Hello how are you today?FIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:46:56 AM]: hello, anybody there?Light M. [8:47:08 AM]: What can i do for oyuFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:47:45 AM]: yes… as an affiliate, can I offer your hosting as part of a package that my company will tailor for our customers… ??[8:48:48 AM]: Although banner ads will be used as well, but the main source of selling will be that package, which will have bluehost as the host…. I will be signing up clients on their behalf… hopefully that will still make me my commission, right?Light M. [8:48:51 AM]: You can as an affiliateFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:50:23 AM]: ok, so you guys are offering webhosing at just below USD 7 … and you will give me USD 65 per sale? please explain this ?? what am I missing out here?Light M. [8:50:50 AM]: That is correct all of our plans are p[repaidFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:51:22 AM]: what do you mean by that, please?[8:51:44 AM]: someone pays you like 7 dollars, you will give me 65? huh?Light M. [8:52:19 AM]: All the plasn are prepaid so for the 36 month plan someone pays us over $250FIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:53:12 AM]: oh ok … but your terms and agreements say “Affiliates may not .resell. hosting . offenders will be deactivated”Light M. [8:53:19 AM]: That is correctFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:53:25 AM]: how do you define reselling then?Light M. [8:53:25 AM]: You can sign up customers through your link[8:53:27 AM]: No problem at all[8:53:36 AM]: You cannot use your accoutn as a reseller accountFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:55:14 AM]: you guys dont allow (or dont have) monthly signups??Light M. [8:57:38 AM]: We do not offer thatFIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [8:58:30 AM]: Interesting… talk about hidden charges! dont you think that is a bit odd??Light M. [8:59:22 AM]: It is not a hidden charge[8:59:28 AM]: We do not offer any month to month plans. It is a standard in the shared hosting industry. Most of the companies you find with similar pricing to ours they will be prepaid as well. If they do offer monthly plans it is usually at 3x the normal rate. Our pricing plans for what we offer are the lowest in the industry.FIRST TIME SALES QUESTION [9:00:26 AM]: its not really 7 per month… it ‘calculates’ down to 7 per month … but you dont pay that much … its a bit like saying, ‘give me a million dollars, i will give you free hosting for life!’ … then advertise ‘free hosting for life’ … does that sound ethical to you?Light M. [9:01:30 AM]: I am sorry if you feel that way any comlaints you have you can send them to feedback@bluehost.com
Well that was that. The industry has a habit of doing that, I know. But full marks to Mosso for not doing that (probably because they don’t really have the payment structure made out like that).
But a good host is a good host is a good host. Bluehost as far as reviews are concerned, is a good host. (I have not used them so far). Anyone wants to check them out (do check out their comparison chart – nice), please do so by clicking on the following affiliate link:
CLICK HERE TO SIGNUP FOR BLUEHOST.COM NOW.
P.S. And if you want free hosting for life, you know what to do! Heck, if you are serious, I will throw in a free Honda Accord, a free lunch, a coke and a smile as well? 
I don’t see why it’s a problem to pre-pay for your hosting account. First, you can’t develop a website fully, in term of popularity and functionality for just3 – 6 months. Even if you can, websites don’t just live online for 3 months, right? – this makes offering hosting package in bundle (minimum 3 months) logical.
Secondly, even if you’re unhappy with their service, Bluehost provides pro-rated refund even if you’re way off the trial period.
I don’t really see anything to lose for consumers.
Of course it is NOT a problem to pre-pay for your hosting account, Mr Review. :/
That was not the point.
The point was/is that it sounds unethical if I tell you that you can have a product ABC for 5 dollars, then when you sign up I ask you to pay 300 dollars to avail that opportunity. I know, anyone in the hosting industry knows that this is essentially how it works, but this does not for even a moment, makes it ethical. Don’t you think?
Well, not all companies work like this. I know companies that allows you to pay for monthly price and when you sign-up for a year, they give you some discount.
I don’t mind pre-paying, but not everyone (including me) can afford paying for 36 months. They should mention on their homepage (where they have mentioned price) that minimum payment is for 36 months. It won’t matter to those who are willing to pay, and save valuable time and effort for those who don’t want to (or can’t afford to).
@aqeeliz: yes, that is my point. thank you
webhost4life.com had a monthly payment plan on their shared hosting if I remember correctly. I used them for a few years for .net hosting (they had the cheapest .net + MSSQL server plan around in the early .net days)