Note: The Unpaid Item Dispute blocks the buyer leaving feedback for the transaction.
Though sometimes things go bad, basing an action on fear of what might happen with a buyer can be counter-productive. There is no need to wait any longer than 48 hours to open the Unpaid Item Dispute, unless that is not what you want to do.
No one wants to antagonize a buyer and risk getting a poor review, but sometimes a seller does everything right and still gets one. Most buyers know that a lone negative is meaningless when the seller owns many positives to counter it with. Therefore, the time to worry about negative feedback is when it happens, not before. Consider also that feedback no longer has the same power it once did. Seller metrics are not affected by feedback scores any more.
"Anything I can do to protect myself?" Once the sale is made, there is essentially no way to lower one's liability. So the time to assess one's risk tolerance is prior to listing the item and then considering all outcomes for the sale.
But at the beginning point, there are a few things a seller can do to minimize their risk on eBay. The first is to know well the policies the platform is governed by. The scammers know them well, and sellers need to know as much as the scammers do, to arm themselves against fraud. One of the most important policies to know is the Money Back Guarantee.
Setting one’s Buyer Requirements is also very important as it can block deadbeat buyers who don’t pay. Setting them to the strictest levels can prevent a known non-payer from buying your items for a year. Buyer Requirements can also block communication from those on your Block List, prevent buyers in locations you don’t ship to from buying your items, and other helpful features as well.
The Unpaid Item Dispute is important because savvy sellers have their Buyer Requirements set up to block those who get two strikes in a year. All sellers benefit from a fellow seller opening these disputes against non-payers. Doing so also blocks the buyer from leaving feedback on that transaction, and credits back the Final Vlaue fees.
Ebay provides Shipping Exclusions so that sellers may choose what areas they are comfortable shipping to. These are effective blocks in preventing international buyers from accessing a seller's items. The same is done with one's Block List where individual users are noted. Anyone a seller does not wish to do business with for any reason can be placed on the Block List.
Another way to minimize risk is to purchase additional shipping insurance on pricey items. This makes the seller whole after a buyer receives an item damaged in transit and the seller must refund. So the seller makes the buyer whole, and the insurance makes the seller whole in turn. Buyers have the Money Back Guarantee. Sellers have shipping insurance. Some sellers self insure by adding a few cents into the sale price of each item to be set aside. Then when there is a refund or shipping damage, those funds are tapped.
@netwizz760 wrote: " ...but it is the buyer who needs to request a cancel right if they do not want the item? Otherwise it is a defect if I do it?
That is correct. A seller can get a defect for canceling a transaction without buyer request. So that is generally a last resort.
