For current business owners already using HOSTED shopping carts like Volusion, Corecommerce, etc…
How extreme can the bandwidth overage cost be? From some quick research on Google, some small business owners are paying over $500 mainly due to unexpected bandwidth usage.
My site will use plenty of graphics as there are lots of HOW TO’s. A decent managed server will cost me $100-150 and will include more than enough bandwidth.
I think that Promoman prices are too high, you can purchase good dedicated server for this money.
Agreed, but that is why it was asked. You get integrated with something like that and it is hard to switch.
You can find prices here, in the “Cost (USD|GBP)” column:
My rates have gone from 300 to 500 a month on my big site.
How much are the image hosting sites in cost?
Promoman, thank you for sharing your “true” cost. This really reflects a better picture than the charts that compare “pricing”. Which I think is the point of this thread (although old).
This is a great thread. Lots of reasons for not using a hosted solution however I haven’t seen anyone answer the question of how much does it actually cost? He used the example of someone paying $500 a month in overage. Does anyone else have an example in what they are paying in overage? I currently host my own solution but am in the process of evaluating new solutions and of course I have to keep my options open and hosted solutions are out there. I am not a fan of them but, I do have to look. I too am curious on what others are paying in overages.
Or simply use a hosted system that
you can easily transfer away from if
they stopping earning your business
each and every day.
Not all hosted systems are “closed”
systems.
yeah. agreed. it is better not too worry about the costly dedicated server yet if you didn’t faced any problem yet. you can transfer the store when you faced the problem later, because you don’t need to worry about it for now.
trust me. i know cuz i’ve been there. 
It is better to use e-commerce system, which could be used as hosted and self-hosted software without any modifications or migration.
You will be able to transfer your store to any hosting or dedicated server in future in this case.
However, Corecommerce charges old customers more than new customers for bandwidth. It depends on if you joined a year ago or now. If you join now, you get the same plan for more GB and pay the same money. Doesn’t make sense nor is it good business.
It’s important to realize that there are
2 types of “hosted” shopping carts.
1 will charge you for usage.
1 will NOT charge you for usage.
You can get the benefits of a hosted
systems and retain the flexibility of
managing your own website and never
pay for bandwidth when your business
really takes off.
And the really important thing people
need to remember is that the ecommerce
landscape has changed forever. PCI
penalties at up to $10,000 per violation
completely alter the “cost” equation.
It’s like “saving money” by driving your
car with no insurance. It might work for
awhile but if you have even a small
problem, it can cost you a fortune.
Most providers charge a pretty penny for bandwidth overages… but there are other reasons not to go for a hosted e-commerce software.
They are on proprietary software on a hosted solution – you’re stuck. If you have problems, or outgrow their servers, you have nowhere to go without starting over from scratch.
That may never ben an issue for you, but I’ve seen several clients on hosted solutions have hours or days of downtime costing them tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenues. When that happens, and it will eventually, you have very little recourse on a hosted platform. At least with software installed on your own machine, you can change hosts, or even have a backup replicated and ready just in case.
They got you locked in and can change rates, etc. I wouldn’t go that route just for the peace of mind that i can change at any time i need to without too much of a hassle
I think that there’s pros and cons for both.
Currently the company I work with does not charge at all for bandwidth… bandwidth usage is unlimited.
Usually hosted solutions have a backup plan as well, and if you end up changing your host or DNS, you can continue selling.
I think it really just depends on the Merchant’s priorities and necessities. 
I’ve seen companies revoke that claim once bandwidth traffic becomes extreme. Also, its not only bandwidth that’s important, but load handling. If you get on Digg and are getting thousands of new visitors an hour, it doesn’t matter how much bandwidth you have left on your plan. What is important is if the server can handle the traffic/load.
Any good host should have a backup plan and a zero downtime move strategy. That just says more about the hosting abilities than the software.
The main reasons I would ever choose to go with a hosted package would be:
All good reasons to try a hosted solution.
I can’t speak for load handling, but I know a few merchants who use Steph’s company ejunkie that are satisfied. I’ve never heard any complaints about getting dropped for bandwidth usage.
Hosted ecommerce solutions can be great value if your site is hosted on a fast server and the software is good. One trick to minimize bandwidth usage is to host your images elsewhere. Our image hosting account is only $2.50 a year, which saves a bundle in potential bandwidth costs.
We use CoreCommerce which is a hosted solution and have been pretty pleased with it so far. We have close to 3300 products and host the images on an image hosting site so we don’t have to worry about bandwidth issues.
I would strongly recommend this route if you plan on selling a lot of products - or if you sell a few products that have alot of options like we do.