GENERAL INFORMATION

Eligibility of Bidders

• Any individual or organization may participate in the auction.
• Bidders must register on the auction platform for an account and provide accurate personal/ contact information.
• A minimum registration fee of $100USD for premium names must be paid before bidding.

Bidding

The platform has two (2) types of selling points: – The Premium Names and the Buy Now Categories.

Buy Now Category

• Domains from the reserved names will be sold under this category without bids.
• Buyers will buy domains at $30USD or 35,000 RWF
• The buying price is paid immediately.
• The amount will be paid directly to Afripay Account, and later transferred to RICTA.
• After payment, the client will be advised to choose their preferred RICTA Accredited Registrar from the list of Registrars provided on the platform. The domain will then be transferred to the Registrar who will provide additional services of bidder’s choice like webhosting etc.
• Domains will be sold on a first come first serve basis.

Premium Category:

• The bidding price is different from the minimum Registration fee, after winning the bid, the bidder will make the payment minus the minimum registration fee of $100USD.
• The winner will be notified via email and must pay for the domain within 7 working days after the Auction is closed. Failure to which, the domain will be awarded to the second highest bidder who also must pay within 7 working days.
• Winners must show proof that they have initiated the payment process within 72 hours of being declared winners.
• After payment, the client will be advised to choose their preferred RICTA Accredited Registrar from the list of Registrars provided on the platform. The domain will then be transferred to the Registrar who will provide additional services of bidder’s choice like webhosting etc.

Customer Service

Bidders can reach the RICTA support team on + 250 781151371 or email on auction@ricta.org.rw

Currency

The currency to be used during the auction is Rwandan Francs or US dollars

Status of the Domain Names on the Auction Platform:

1. Active when the domain is being auctioned.
2. Unpaid when the domain has been sold but still waiting for the payment to be done.
3. Waiting the 2nd highest bidder response when the winner of the auction did not pay the domain within the 7 working days given to make the payment after the auction closed.
4. Unsold when none of the winners made the payment, then the domain can be listed again for another given auction in the future.
5. Sold when the winner has paid the for the domain and the domain will be marked sold.

.RW Domain Name Auction Rules and Regulations:

1. You can't use RICTA Auction portal if your account contains false contact information. You must provide accurate & up to date contacts.
2. In order to be able to bid for premium domain names, you are required to pay a refundable registration fee of $100USD. This will be payable through MOMO (for local users) or Afripay (for international users). This is not applied to “BUY NOW CATEGORY”.
3. If you are the highest bidder, you can use the refundable registration deposit (and top up where necessary) in order to purchase your domain.
4. You can only bid if you really intend to buy the domain. Please don't place a bid unless you mean to buy it.
5. If you have won the bid, please note that the amount won for the domain must be paid directly to Afripay Account by the bidder. Once payment has been made, the bidder must now select a registrar of his/her choice to facilitate registration of the domain name.
6. Clients will be informed about their winning bid after the auction closes.
7. The auction will be closed and winners will be announced at the beginning of the week to enable them process and submit their payments within 7 days.
8. Upon winning a bid, you are required to commit to paying for the domain, and make payment within 7 working days.
9. You will only be able to pay for and have your domain within 7 working days after the auction date has been closed.
10. In case you have placed bids for multiple domains, ONLY one winning bid will be inclusive of the minimum registration fee of USD 100. The other winning bids will be paid in full amount above the reserve and they will exclude the minimum registration fee of USD 100.
11. Failure to pay for a won domain will result in it being awarded to the next highest bidder or be set back to the Market.
12. Be careful about bidding on several domains if you only want one. If you're the winning bidder of more than one domain name, you need to purchase all the domains you've won. In case you do not win a bid, the refundable registration deposit will be refunded back to you. For unsuccessful bidders, the refund on the registration fee WILL BE LESS THE BANK TRANSFER CHARGES.
13. You must pay for any domain before you commit to buy it.
14. The auction will be done in different batches with different prices. This will be communicated accordingly.
15. A client CANNOT use the minimum registration fee to purchase domains from the BUY NOW CATEGORY. The minimum registration fee is ONLY for acquisition of Premium Names Category.
16. ALL won domains will be registered and released to the client after the auction phase is closed.
17. The minimum registration fee will be refunded to all unsuccessful bidders within 7 working days once the auction date has been closed.
18. The base price for each Domain Name will have a separate registration cost MINUS VAT. Registrant will not be required to pay registration fee to his/her registrar if he uses the ‘’BUY NOW CATEGORY’’.
19. This fee in the BUY NOW CATEGORY only caters for domain acquisition and registration, other services offered by registrars will not be covered by this fee and will be billed as per the agreement between a Registrar and Registrant.
20. Two (2) bids of a similar price can’t be placed simultaneously.
21. There is NO restriction of registrant’s location or persons: a bidder can be Rwandan or Non-Rwandan, individuals or corporate bodies.