Early Access Period (EAP)

The Early Access Period is how new gTLD registries let people jump the line at general availability, for a price. It typically runs about a week. On day one a registration might cost $10,000, on day two $3,000, then $1,000, $500, $150, and so on until it reaches the normal price and GA begins.

It's a descending-price auction in disguise. Anyone who wants a specific name badly enough pays the day-one price. Everyone else waits and hopes nobody else blinks first.

The price you pay in EAP is a one-time fee on top of the registration. The renewal drops back to the standard rate the following year, unless the registry also priced the name as a premium. Check both before you get excited.