Host reseller questions

There are different meanings for the word "Reseller".

You can resell someones hosting for a small commission and they take care of a customer support, billing, etc.

Then there's reselling space, where you lease a piece of a shared server for a certain amount each month and sell hosting service to your customers. This method involves level 1 support, billing, etc. on your time and dime and does not involve the hosting company.
This method involves direct interaction with your hosted clients 24/7 or they will leave.

There are some hosting company's who will sell you their service's wholesale to sell hosting for them transparently. They will provide the service, support and billing. You setup a hosting business and buy the service from them at a reduced rate. Such as selling a plan for 10.00 and purchasing the service at wholesale for 8.50 using your hosting company name.

There is no best. I use reseller hosting for nearly everything I do. But I don't "resell". The host I chose will actually do the backend support if I do sell but I would field the emails. Then I would have to contact them to get things "fixed". You want to field the emails because you are the point of contact. You are the consultant.

I have read many Webmaster Forums with run of the mills reseller hosting ruining the reputation of the consultants. Sites go down... they blame you. Sites not loading fast... they blame you.

You definitely don't want to use a host that oversells. In my opinion hosts like HostGators oversell. Plus you get a spike in traffic they shut you down.

You need to pay more for better service. And you need to contact the Webhost directly by phone and ask your questions. Then you need to convince your clients that they are paying a bit more to ensure the quality they deserve and expect from you.

The package you sell your clients is more than just hosting.

Hosting it going to be more of an add on benefit rather than the selling point of my service. Most of my clients are not very technical. They would prefer to not deal with any of it.

So who would be some of the ones you would suggest to contact? I don't mind paying a reasonable fee (however you define that) but don't want to be 24/7 either.

Do you have any resources I could read to understand the pros/cons of this?

I am struggling to find a really good webhosting provider for my customers too. I want to go down the reselling route to make an annual fee rather than just a one off payment but want it to be as maintenance free as possible...

If you find the perfect solution or if anyone else knows of one I would be grateful.

Rackspace cloud look very interesting, Thanks also for the heads up on hostgator