> the main thing you're getting out of the VPS is the static IP.
Yes, that and RDNS.
> If you're paying for that, why not just pay for a static IP at home?
That’s a good question. I too hear that mail providers consider IP blocks assigned to VPS providers less trustworthy than others. The reasons I don’t take the ISP/dedicated server route, aside from price, are:
• VPS providers are not tied to my physical location. If I move, I probably can’t take my ISP’s static IP with me (I may even move to somewhere they don’t service). Conversely, if I want to switch away from a local ISP, the selection of alternatives is extremely limited.
• Risk of neighboring IPs reducing the reputation of the block exists with server companies and local ISPs as well. I concede that the problem is probably worse with VPSes, but I hope to mitigate it somewhat by avoiding bottom‐of‐the‐barrel providers and by the fact that my own IP will never be used to spam.
• I’m somewhat worried about the possibility of DDOS, and VPS companies provide a lot of cheap bandwidth, so in case of attack I might be able to salvage the situation with careful firewalling on the VPS.