This might sound a bit stupid but I am new to this whole thing. When a vendor requires FE, does that mean that you have to Finalize the order before they even marked it as "Shipped"? I placed an order for a vendor who claimed super-fast delivery and I was waiting for him to mark it as "Shipped" before finalizing. However it's been almost two days now and the order status is still "Pending". I sent him a message asking him to mark it so I can FE, but he didn't reply. He's a very reputable vendor and I am not too worried about getting scammed. I'm just wondering whether he's waiting for me to FE before shipping.
Cheers!
Finalizing early means you send them the funds before you get your product. This is something you do yourself on the order tab, there is a button that says finalize and will ask for confirmation.
Also there are plenty of great vendors out there who are FE only. I wouldn't FE with a new vendor I've never used but there are plenty of times where it's acceptable, just be prepared to lose whatever you FE with as it can happen.
SO yes if they require FE the vendor will not mark shipped (or ship out) until you release the funds.