Every week, Hendrik Laubscher will be providing third party sellers with a selection of news stories that they need to be aware of. As a Prosper Show participant we strive to ensure that you can focus on your business while we handle all the industry news.

First off – I hope that everyone is having a good festive season in terms of sales and that this week culminates in a successful last quarter.  The news this week – Jet has a shipping problem, eBay lifts ban on empty boxes and Amazon is rumored to be hiring planes (yes planes) for their logistics business.

Buzzy e-commerce startup Jet.com Inc. this week became one of the first major retailers to tell customers its packages may not arrive before Christmas. The company announced in emails to customers and on its website that it cannot guarantee delivery of merchandise in time for Christmas except items eligible for pricey two-day delivery. That makes it one of the first major retailers to make such an announcement, though a full week still remains in the holiday shopping season. I cant say I am not surprised. Jet took a risk and that was to go hard with marketing but not having a logistics network to ensure delivery came back to haunt the Hoboken, New Jersey business. Read more here.

eBay has lifted its ban on listing empty product boxes for sale. The marketplace had previously prohibited sellers from selling empty boxes because some buyers felt scammed when they realized they had paid hundreds of dollars on an empty box when they thought they were buying a product in such categories as high-end electronics, fragrances, and jewelry. I believe this is a sign as to how far eBay has fallen behind Amazon. The concept makes a bit of sense but why is there no empty box category on eBay? Read more here.

Amazon.com is negotiating to lease 20 Boeing 767 jets for its own air-delivery service. The online retail giant wants to build out its own cargo operations to avoid delays from carriers such as United Parcel Service, which have struggled to keep up with the rapid growth of e-commerce. This has large implications for the entire ecommerce industry. Firstly, sellers could potentially have a new shipping partner in the not too distant future. Secondly, UPS, FedEx and USPS have little idea how tough it is battling Amazon. This could be a big story in 2016. Read more here.

Till next week. Onwards.