Finalize-early (FE) explained: what it means, why some vendors ask for it, when it is reasonable to agree, and how it affects your dispute leverage if something goes wrong.
Escrow is the default on every market we recommend. You pay, the market holds the funds, the vendor ships, you confirm receipt, the funds release. If anything goes wrong before the confirm, you can dispute and the moderators decide who gets the money.
Finalize-early (FE) is the opposite. You pay, the funds release to the vendor immediately, before the package ships. If the order goes wrong, you have nothing to dispute, the money is gone.
Cashflow. Vendors with FE privileges get their money immediately instead of waiting two weeks. Established vendors with clean dispute ratios are usually granted FE permission by the market, smaller vendors sometimes push for it informally.
You have done multiple clean orders with the vendor and you trust them. The vendor has a long track record on the market, high deal count, low dispute ratio. The vendor explicitly has FE granted by the market (not just asking you to "trust them"). The order is small enough that losing it would not ruin your week.
It is your first order with the vendor. The vendor is new on the market. The vendor pressures you to FE for any reason. The order is large. The market does not officially recognise the vendor as FE-eligible.
A vendor who refuses to ship in escrow is choosing not to do business with you, and you can choose not to do business with them. Other vendors carry the same product line on every market on this shortlist.
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