Hi all —
I’ve been running a small online store for the past year and have had decent success with a mid-tier VPS. Here are a few thoughts from my experience, plus a note about ISP proxies pricing which often gets overlooked.

What I recommend looking for in a VPS

Consistent uptime and strong network connectivity (especially if you’re doing sales globally).

Enough RAM and CPU to handle peak loads (e.g., product launches, flash sales).

Solid SSD storage and daily backups — critical if you can’t afford downtime.

Good support: fast response times when things go wrong.

Scalability: the ability to upgrade as your store grows without needing to migrate to a completely new system.

My setup
I’m using a 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM VPS from a provider with a 99.9% network SLA; I’ve had fewer than 2 hours of unexpected downtime so far. The host also offers unmanaged plans, which keeps costs lower, but you’ll need someone comfortable handling updates and security.

ISP proxies pricing — a frequently overlooked cost
If your store uses advanced functionality like geo-targeted content, scraping competitor prices, or managing multiple accounts from different IPs, you may need ISP (Internet Service Provider) level proxies. These are different (and typically more expensive) than standard data center proxies because they rely on residential or ISP-owned IP space. When budgeting:

Expect to pay more for reliability, shared vs. dedicated use, and location diversity.

For example, some vendor quotes I’ve seen range from $5-$15/month per IP (or more) depending on region and volume.

Make sure the provider clearly states the type of IP pool, usage limits, and rotation policy.

Bottom line

If your online store remains small and straightforward (standard e-commerce, limited traffic spikes), a reliable VPS with decent specs and good support should be entirely sufficient. If your setup is more complex, with significant proxy usage or geo-distributed operations, don’t forget to account for ISP-proxy pricing in your total hosting budget.

Hope this helps — feel free to ask if you want provider suggestions or a comparison based on your traffic volumes.