VPN Auction¶
A weekly auction for placing VPN service ads in the "Recommended VPN" channel.
Overview¶
VPN service providers bid to get into the channel's top 10 recommendations. Winners get their ad placed for a week.
How it works¶
For participants¶
- Open the bot: @incyhelperbot
/start→ VPN Auction- Top up your balance (SBP via Kassai/FreeKassa or cryptocurrency via CryptoPay)
- Place a bid
- Create an ad (title, description, link)
- 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 between 20:00 and 22:00 (MSK) |
| After it ends | The top 10 get placement; the rest get a refund to their bot balance for participating in future auctions |
The end time is chosen randomly to protect against sniping (last-second bids).
The auction balance cannot be used to pay for Premium.
Bids¶
Rules¶
- One active bid per user per week
- A bid locks funds on the balance (escrow)
- You can raise a bid — the difference is deducted from the balance
- If pushed out of the top 10 — a full refund to the bot balance
- The minimum raise step is configured by the administrator
Top 10¶
The ranking is by bid size (highest to lowest). When all 10 slots are filled, a new bid must be higher than the lowest one in the top.
When pushed out, the user gets: - A Telegram notification - A full refund of the locked funds
Ads¶
Each participant can create an ad:
| Field | Limit |
|---|---|
| Title | up to 100 characters (Premium emoji supported) |
| Description | up to 200 characters (Premium emoji supported) |
| Link | HTTP/HTTPS or t.me/ |
The ad is displayed in the channel upon winning. It can be changed at any time.
Results¶
In the channel¶
After the auction ends, a showcase of the winners' ads is published to the channel:
- Top 3 — with medals (🥇🥈🥉)
- Places 4–10 — with numbers
- Each line is a clickable link to the service
Format: 🥇 Title - Description (the entire 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¶
- Kassai/FreeKassa (SBP) — the user enters an amount in dollars; payment is charged in rubles at the current rate
- CryptoPay (Telegram Crypto Bot) — in cryptocurrency
Fund movement¶
| Operation | Balance |
|---|---|
| Top-up | + |
| Bid | − (lock) |
| Bid raise | − (pay the difference) |
| Pushed out of top 10 | + (refund) |
| Lost the auction | + (refund) |
| Won the auction | funds are charged permanently |
Notifications¶
Participants receive Telegram notifications:
- Pushed out of the top 10 (with the refund amount)
- Win (place and amount)
- Loss (with refund)
Administration¶
Via the bot (/admin):
- View auction statistics (participants, bids, locked funds)
- End the auction early
- Adjust users' balances
Who will see the ad¶
INCY app users without a premium subscription see the "Where can I get servers?" section in the app settings (the "About" screen). Tapping it takes them to the channel with the auction results.
Channel: @recommended_vpn