USPS is increasing the rate of Flat rate on Nov 18th. If you are seeing the price rise early Amazon is again having a glitch.

I noticed the Amazon Buy Shipping increase yesterday.

It was also posted here under a slightly different title.

Amazon shipping is expensive rather than Pirateship [link]

I got this from stamps today, I guess they are increasing rates this month (Amazon was still a week early raising priority rates on us):

Here’s what you need to know.As the holiday season approaches, we want to keep you informed about the latest developments that will impact your shipping experience.  You might have heard some USPS rates will change on November 18th. No worries, we’ve got you covered with a quick overview of what you can expect:

Priority Mail® costs are increasing by about 1.5%. Notably lower zones will experience higher-than average hikes

Ground Advantage™ experiencing a decrease of approximately 5%. Zones 1-5 will see the most significant drops  

Regional ground shipments (1-2 lb), on average, are seeing price drops ranging from 10% to 18% across all zones 

Priority Mail Flat Rate® boxes will see an average 5% price increase across all zones

Note that if you're using Priority Mail® or Ground Advantage™ for short-distance shipments, you might experience higher rates.

Interestingly, today Amazon offered an AMAZING deal on a 9+ pound package (book set) going cross-country via USPS. So low that the rate (Ground Advantage Cubic) was much lower than Bound Printed Matter (much less Media Mail); even Priority Cubic was lower than Bound Printed Matter. The rate I was shown (and indeed charged) was WELL under the USPS commercial rate. (The UPS rate was super low too!) Bizarre but I'll take it!

As far as rates changing, Amazon, like Pirateship and many others, has certain negotiated rates, which for USPS can be below the standard commercial rates. I believe these can changed at different times than the published at-the-counter and online commercial rates, which usually change only once a year (one increase yearly for "market dominant" classes and one increase yearly for "competitive" mail classes I think).

Based on what I've read in the Pirate Ship article, it sounds more like a removal of certain discounts not a price increase (Add the : between s and / to get the link open).

https//support.pirateship.com/en/articles/8546033-usps-rate-change-november-18th-2023

Try out the Flat Rate Priority Envelope. It's cheaper than the Small Box and holds more.

@Seller_YjkZaX4iixNAg @Seller_OAAf0BtMbrP5Y @Seller_s7F7fMBDtix0d and all other sellers asking about recent USPS rate changes:

As you have seen, USPS Holiday Rate Changes have gone into effect. These include increased rates for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Flat as well as decreased rates for USPS Ground Advantage. USPS will not be charging surcharges this holiday season.

Sellers discussed those changes in a few threads including: Amazon shipping is expensive rather than Pirateship

As for the date these changes went into effect: USPS provided Amazon with flexibility due to the proximity to the business holiday shopping season. In addition, the rate changes included decreases for Ground Advantage pricing as well as Priority increases. The potential for seller savings outweighed the increases in Priority.

No holiday surcharges but price increases either way.

Yes, so did SDC. Small increases on Priority; I have not seen any decreases in Ground Advantage pricing.