A damage claim starts on whatever day the buyer messages you, so the Shipping Carrier Damage Claim Kit runs on free or already-owned software. The kit ships as five files: flat printable PDFs in US Letter and A4, an ink-friendly black-and-white US Letter PDF, a fillable phone-friendly PDF, and the Carrier-Damage-Claim-Tracker.xlsx spreadsheet. This article covers what opens and edits each part, which devices suit each step, what the kit pairs with, and how it honestly compares with building a claim from an inbox and memory.
The spreadsheet holds the claim-level view. It opens in Microsoft Excel with all formulas live, and it works the same in Google Sheets, which is free with a Google account: upload the .xlsx to Google Drive, open it in Sheets, and the claim log, evidence index, and cost log all stay in one place. The demo rows are there on purpose — 3 claims logged, 2 marked Paid, and a cost log totalling $97 from $85 plus $12 — so you can see how a claim reads at a glance before replacing the demo rows with your own. Apple Numbers and LibreOffice Calc open it as well. No macros and no paid add-ons are involved.
The PDF kit opens with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader on iPhone, Android, Windows, and Mac. The fillable version works on your phone the same day: open it in Acrobat Reader, tap the fields, and complete the Preserve First pages while the buyer’s photos are in front of you. Apple Files and Preview handle the flat PDFs for reading and printing, and a desktop browser such as Chrome or Edge opens them too. Preservation itself uses the camera you already carry: your phone photographs the item, the box, and the packing, and your photo library’s timestamps help the evidence index point at the right pictures. Paid PDF editors are unnecessary.
Devices follow the claim. Your phone is the first-response device: the buyer’s message arrives there, the photos happen there, and the preservation pages start there. A desktop or laptop is the best seat for the filing itself — the dossier assembled from sale and packing records side by side, the tracking timeline copied in, and the carrier form filled from the filing page without retyping. A tablet sits comfortably in between for reading the full file. Printing is optional: any home or office printer handles the US Letter pages, A4 covers printers outside the US, and the black-and-white version keeps a paper claim file cheap. Many sellers keep the whole file digital, in one folder per claim.
What pairs with it: the eBay INAD / Return Abuse Defense Kit covers the returns side of marketplace disputes with the same evidence-first discipline, the Chargeback Dispute Rebuttal Pack organizes payment disputes from the same records, and the Marketplace Account Suspension Appeal products in the DealShore reseller lane cover the bigger account-level fight. Inside your own setup, the kit pairs naturally with photographing condition and packing at shipping time, so a dossier is an assembly job, not a search. [Affiliate slot: packing supplies and fragile-item packaging for resellers] [Affiliate slot: photo light box for pre-shipment condition photos]
The honest comparison: handling a damage claim manually usually means the buyer’s photos in a message thread, the box already recycled, and the claim form answered from memory — free, and exactly how winnable claims get lost. A blank folder or spreadsheet can hold the same records with real discipline, but it will not force preservation before disposal, separate what you have from what you honestly do not, or keep the buyer track and the carrier track from contradicting each other. The carrier’s own form tells you what it asks, but not in what order to gather it. This kit’s stated limits matter: it is a general record-keeping tool, it is not legal advice — consult an attorney about your situation — and it states no carrier policy, filing deadline, or coverage rule and guarantees no outcome. What it does is make sure the proof still exists when the form asks for it.
File it from the record, on the tools you already own:
Get it on DealShore: https://dealshore.com/shipping-carrier-damage-claim-kit/
Get it on Etsy: https://dealshore.etsy.com
Get free sample pages + new kit alerts — email contact@dealshore.com