early link
/ˈɜːrli lɪŋk/
CommonA product URL that goes live before the official drop time, giving some buyers a head start.
Retailers often don't intend these to go live early. Finding one is considered a win. Not all early links work at checkout, but when they do, it's a major advantage.
Real-world examples4 examples
| # | Example | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | early link just dropped in the server. move fast. | A working product URL was shared in the cook group. Buy now. | reddit, 2023 |
| 02 | copped at 9:47am. drop wasn't supposed to start till 10. early link was live. | The buyer checked out 13 minutes before the official release because the URL was already working. | x, 2024 |
| 03 | early link didn't go through to checkout. false alarm. | The URL was accessible but the purchase couldn't be completed. | x, 2023 |
| 04 | monitors caught an early link at 11pm. whole group copped while everyone else slept. | Automated monitors found the URL overnight before a morning release. | reddit, 2024 |
Use it when
- A product URL is active before the scheduled release time.
- A cook group or monitor found a working product page early.
- Discussing how some buyers got the item before everyone else.
Do not use it when
- You mean a raffle entry link or draw link.Use “raffle-entry” instead.
- You mean a backdoor purchase through an employee.Use “backdoor” instead.
Early link vs backdoor
early link
An early link is a URL that accidentally goes live before the drop.
VS
backdoor
A backdoor is a direct purchase from a store employee, usually off the books.
Origin and context
Emerged as a tactic in online sneaker drops when retailers began using scheduled product page releases. Monitors scanning for changes in site structure could detect working URLs before countdown timers hit zero.
- First seen
- late-2010s
- Confidence
- medium
Cite this page
Use this stable URL to reference the entry.
https://slang.fyi/early-linkUpdated: 2026-08-29License: CC BY 4.0