I am under 18 and would like to set up a domain with web hosting. The thing is, most of these companies require either PayPal to purchase their product (ToS says you need to be over 18 to use) or that you are over 18 years of age. I understand that I could get a parent to sign up for the account and I could manage it, but is there another way as I would like to do it myself, because my parents don't really trust the Internet or believe you can start an online business/make money online. I would like to avoid violating the various ToS for different products as much as possible to avoid a loss of funds/privileges. Thank you for reading/responding.
In Europe, there excist "PaySafeCard", ( http://www.paysafecard.com ). Well, you can buy them in nearly all service stations here. There is nothing to verify or something else and you don't even need a Account, so it is annonym etc... Maybe there is something like that in Australia. An other method is, that you Sign Up @ Webmoney, there you can verify your Account with your Mobilephone.
Thanks for the suggestion, but that is being a bit dishonest/underhanded and I want to keep a clean profile
Are disposable credit cards available over there. We have them in out Post Shops in NZ and they only cost $5 fee per card, maybe you have something similar?
I normally discourage bending the rules but in this case I say you should go for it. Get a prepaid credit card and use that to sign up for your hosting account. Here in the states Walmart sells a credit card that can be reloaded with additinal funds as needed. You won't be asked your age when you buy a hosting account so you won't have to lie. As long as you do nothing wrong it will never be a problem. Falsifing the PayPal info could cause you some trouble down the road and you need a bank account or CC to verify yourself anyway.
Do you know anything about web hosting? If not, shoot me an PM or email and I'll help you out. Please, understand web hosting is not a get rich quick thing. It takes serious dedication. What do you plan on doing for support? If you can not offer 24/7 support, don't even bother starting, you'll never get enough people. If you want to just host your friends, thats fine. Remember though, you will have to pay taxes, get a business license if its required, SSL certs, plus more. If you would like to know a lot more, contact me and I will help you out some.
I'm not 100% sure but it would be very probable that we do. Seems legit I guess, as long as you can buy a card under 18. Thanks for the input, but the prepaid credit card does seem like a better option. I know enough about web hosting, I am only going to be hosting small blogs, I am not going to be reselling hosting or anything. And in Australia if you earn under 5-6 thousand dollars you don't pay tax. Thanks anyway.
You may not pay tax, but you may still have to claim it. I know US Law says you still have to claim the income to the IRS. Don't know about Australia and you may want to look up that part of the law.
I'm not entirely sure, my dad knows a lot about money and taxation so I'll ask him. Better to be safe and claim it then to wind up owing the government in the future.
I'm 14. Using PayPal in "mummy's" name. Seriously. It's not dishonest. She has the password if she wants to check. Only difference is it's all rigged up to my bank account (and I'm the one paying the damn taxes).
lol linkage. I agree with you though. Just because she's letting you use her paypal account does not make it wrong
If it is the only option I will have to take it, but I still think the prepaid credit card thing is more legit.
I bought a domain with my paypal (screw being over 18 for one) and get a parent to pay for hosting. or you could get free hosting from a freehost like www.000webhost.com
Hi. About 6 months I was in exactly the same boat as you: didn't want to sign up for a Paypal as didn't want to get in trouble or anything, and also my parents didn't want anything to do with it because they think all webmasters are scammers, and, due to them being stubborn they wouldn't listen even when I tried to inform them of what it actually involves. So, I did it anyway, signed up for a Paypal and got about $250 in 1 month, and Paypal limited the account. Couldn't do anything about it because I had no debit card or bank account to link it to, so there was a lesson learned. Being a naughty boy rolleyes, I signed up for another and have had it ever since, no problems. Would your parents be willing to set you up a Paypal and verify it with their details? So, IMO you have two choices. You either bend the rules a little and get a Paypal (which is one of the most important tools for being a webmaster IMO), or get a bank account with debit card. You'd be a bit limited, but you could buy hosting and a domain with it. (Not sure how it is in Aus, but in UK you can have one over the age of 13 or something). Just out of interest, how old are you?
almost 16, and over here there is an option of a prepaid credit card that I could possibly link to paypal with. I just really don't want to risk having a lot of money in a paypal account then having it locked like you did. Thanks for the reply.
I would just make the PayPal in your name,and verify it with a disposable credit card. Then you need not worry at all. Do you have a bank account? You could link it with that as well.
PayPal really does not care whether your 18 or not, same with most hosting companies. It all comes down to, if you break our rules can we hold you responsible?
Why can't things just be simple. So prepaid card is ruled out? Maybe I can convince my mum to sign up for a PayPal account and I'll just link it to a bank account that I will create for online needs? Will that verify or will there be more hassle?