Yes and if I was setting up a company of 100 people I'd be fine with that because I probably have the cash flow to support that.
I was in the middle of setting up a service for a company of one at the moment and having one or two redirected emails isn't worth fifty dollars a year each right now.
So, a real life story: I set up a free GMail account for my site, and directed all the contacts from the site there. I added it to my phone so I'd know when I got messages. I didn't really do much promotion, so I wasn't surprised I didn't see anything for a week. When I logged in from the web, I had gotten three emails from potential customers. Unfortunately, they'd been sitting for a week, and so it didn't make a very good impression when I did reply.
A company of one definitely needs the most reliable communications it can get. Even if you're drowning in leads, it makes you much more credible if you don't have to explain to a client why their email bounced back. A delightful, relevant saying I encountered the other day is 'penny wise, pound foolish'.
I don't understand what point you're trying to get across here. Aren't you just as likely to forget to check a google apps mail as a regular gmail? Or are you describing a bug? Isn't that still equally likely with either option?
Aren't both options crushed in effectiveness by redirecting to your main account, whatever that is?
> A company of one definitely needs the most reliable communications it can get
Is that clear enough for you? Self-hosting is a poor idea because screwing up once costs you real money, probably more than you'd spend on a year of hosting at a small business.
My point is, I made a minor mistake in configuring GMail. That was my own fault. Multiply that amount of configuration by a million, and see if you don't make a mistake. Do ongoing maintenance, and see if you don't make a mistake. Keep everything secure, make sure you're whitelisted by every major provider, and ensure no messages ever bounce one way or another.
My point is, fucking up is bad and easily costs you money. Giving yourself infinitely more ways to fuck up to save $50 a year is stupid. I don't know how I can put it more plainly than that. At this point you're pretty much just trolling.
I have the premium account for 8 people. If we were 100, I may setup an in house exchange or similar. I may have 3 more guys maintaining the email, web and the rest of Internet related hard/soft.
For 8 I prefer $50 per year. Three more guys over 8 is ridiculous.
I was in the middle of setting up a service for a company of one at the moment and having one or two redirected emails isn't worth fifty dollars a year each right now.