# VPN Auction

## VPN Auction

A weekly auction for placing ads for VPN services in the “Recommended VPN” channel.

### Overview

VPN service providers bid for a spot in the channel’s top 10 recommendations. Winners get their ad placed for one week.

***

### How it works

#### For participants

1. Open the bot: [@incyhelperbot](https://t.me/incyhelperbot)
2. `/start` → **VPN Auction**
3. Top up your balance (SBP via Tribute or cryptocurrency via CryptoPay)
4. Place a bid
5. Create an ad (name, description, link)
6. Wait for the auction to end

#### Auction cycle

| Stage           | Description                                                                                         |
| --------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Monday          | A new auction opens                                                                                 |
| During the week | Participants place bids                                                                             |
| Sunday          | The auction ends at a random time (20:00–22:00 MSK)                                                 |
| After it ends   | The top 10 get placement; the rest are returned to the bot balance for future auction participation |

The end time is chosen at random to protect against sniping (last-second bids).

Auction balance cannot be used to pay for Premium

***

### Bids

#### Rules

* One active bid per user per week
* The bid locks funds on the balance (escrow)
* You can raise your bid — the difference is deducted from the balance
* If pushed out of the top 10 — full refund to the bot balance
* The minimum bid increment is set by the administrator

#### Top 10

The ranking is formed by bid amount (from highest to lowest). When all 10 spots are filled, the new bid must be higher than the lowest bid in the top list.

If pushed out, the user receives:

* Telegram notification
* Full refund of the locked funds

***

### Ads

Each participant can create an ad:

| Field       | Limit                |
| ----------- | -------------------- |
| Name        | up to 100 characters |
| Description | up to 200 characters |
| Link        | HTTP/HTTPS or t.me/  |

The ad is displayed in the channel if it wins. It can be changed at any time.

***

### Results

#### In the channel

After the auction ends, a showcase with the winners’ ads is published in the channel:

* Top 3 — with medals (🥇🥈🥉)
* Places 4–10 — with numbers
* Each line is a clickable link to the service

Format: `🥇 Name - Description` (the whole line is a link)

#### During the auction

* Nothing is published to the channel
* Participants see the ranking only in the bot
* Participant IDs are masked (first 4 digits)

***

### Balance

#### Top up

* **Tribute** (card, SBP) — via link, RUB→USD conversion at a fixed rate
* **CryptoPay** (Telegram Crypto Bot) — in cryptocurrency

#### Movement of funds

| Operation                | Balance                       |
| ------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Top up                   | +                             |
| Bid                      | − (blocked)                   |
| Raise bid                | − (pay the difference)        |
| Pushed out of the top 10 | + (refund)                    |
| Auction loss             | + (refund)                    |
| Auction win              | funds are debited permanently |

***

### Notifications

Participants receive notifications in Telegram:

* Pushed out of the top 10 (with refund amount)
* Win (place and amount)
* Loss (with refund)

***

### Who will see the ad

Users of the INCY app without a premium subscription see the section “Where can I get servers?” in the app settings (the “About app” screen). Also in [AIHelper](https://aihelper.website/index.html) when they ask “Where can I get servers?”. By tapping it, they go to the channel with the auction results.

Channel: [@recommended\_vpn](https://t.me/recommended_vpn)


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