Early Access Program

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Some registries of new top-level domains are selling premium domain names at higher costs during the landrush phase than what will be available in general availability phase at registrars. This time period prior to general availability is being called “Early Access Program” (EAP).

The EAP is not supported by all registries, and the ones that offer it may not have partnerships with all registrars. Check your desired TLD registry for more information.

As DomainNameWire.com describes for TLDs launched by Donuts.co:

First day pricing: $12,500
Second day pricing: $3,150
Third day pricing: $1,250
Fourth day pricing: $700
Fifth day pricing: $200

After EAP, the price then becomes the general availability pricing, which is set by the registrar.

101Domain.com explains the EAP pricing this way, with their specific pricing, as follows:

Many registries are releasing new gTLDs using a fee structure similar to how you buy pre-sale concert tickets. The gist of this structure is that during Landrush, registrants will be able to reserve their names on a priority basis for varying fees. A common fee structure that will be in use is the Early Access Program (EAP).

EAP will last 7 days. On day 1, a registrant may register their domain name for a one-time fee of $10,990 plus registration fee. On day 2, the fee is $2,750, on day 3, the fee is $1,049, etc. This is essentially a first-come, first-serve auction system. For some registrants it will make sense to pay the extra fee to lock in their registrations, and for other registrants it will make sense to wait until general availability to register at a much lower price point, if the name is still available.

One important thing to note for any phase is that if someone orders in an earlier phase, the earlier phase will always take priority, so make sure you plan your strategy accordingly!