Amazon’s Climate Pledge now has nearly 600 companies committing to net zero by 2040—moves that could shape future seller regulations and costs.
- USPS peak season price hike… again? 📦
- Ever wonder what tools top agencies use for Amazon? 🛠️
- Arizona claims Amazon misleads buyers ⚖️
- Sellers hail TikTok Shop as 2025’s big opportunity 🚀
- Get Looped In and take the chaos out of ecommerce accounting ✉️
CASH CORNER
If you thought you could skate through Q4 without extra shipping costs, think again.
EcommerceBytes reported that USPS is rolling out its fifth round of holiday peak-season surcharges, running October 5, 2025, through January 18, 2026.
📦 What’s getting hit
This year’s rate hikes cover Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and Parcel Select—for both retail and commercial shipments.
A couple of eyebrow-raising examples from the commercial side:
- Priority Mail Zone 5–9, 26–70 lbs. will cost $6.50 more.
- USPS Ground Advantage Zone 1–4, 0–3 lbs., will cost $0.30 more.
Note: View the entire breakdown of fees on the USPS website.
🏗 USPS’s justification
They say it’s to offset “extra handling costs” for a smooth peak season.
And while they claim their rates are still among the lowest in the industrialized world, sellers might feel otherwise when that label cost creeps up.
The seller thread under this announcement is on fire—read it here.
TOGETHER WITH SELLER ALLIANCE
Get Agency-Level Resources Without the Agency Price
If you’ve ever wished you had a team of Amazon experts in your back pocket, this is it.
Seller Alliance is your all-access pass to the same tools, templates, and strategies used by top Amazon agencies—made available for sellers who prefer to do it themselves.
Created by the team behind Seller Interactive, this membership gives you direct access to:
- Proven SOPs, checklists, and templates for every stage of growth
- Expert-built video walkthroughs to implement strategies with confidence
- Regular updates based on real agency insights and marketplace shifts
- Live training and sessions tailored to what’s working right now on Amazon
Whether you’re optimizing listings, improving ad performance, or scaling operations, Seller Alliance gives you real, reliable resources without the fluff. No endless YouTube rabbit holes. No recycled content. Just what works—straight from the agency trenches.
And the best part? You stay in control. You run your business, we back you with the knowledge.
BITES OF THE WEEK
- TikTok Doubles Down: Despite looming bans and regulatory threats, TikTok Shop pulled off a $26B global GMV.
- Forced Labor Allegations: Three Amazon brands are in hot water for alleged labor abuse of Pakistani workers.
- Instagram Updated Metrics: Your Instagram "Insights" tab should now have updated metrics and content stats.
- Handmade Reclassified: Some Handmade sellers failed to be notified when their products were reclassified.
BLACK MARKET
Amazon's allegedly cheats shoppers again
Arizona’s courtroom is back for a third attempt at suing Amazon—well, technically, it’s two old lawsuits with a fresh coat of legal paint.
According to the Arizona Capitol Times, Attorney General Kris Mayes (AG) accused the retail giant of two things: Buy Box bias and a ‘roach motel’ scheme in its cancellation process.
🎯 The "best deal" that might not be
Did you know that nearly 98% of sales happen through the famous Buy Box? Yep, and the AG claimed Amazon misled shoppers into thinking they’re getting the lowest price.
- Claim: AG said the algorithm favors Amazon’s own listings or sellers who pay hefty FBA fees.
- Reason for previous dismissal: Lack of proof.
- What’s new: The revised lawsuit now names specific parties.
- In 2021, Amazon’s Buy Box offered the Bob Marley “Legend” vinyl for $22.97, while a third-party seller had it for $18.89.
- In 2022, a Corsair gaming headset was $107.99 in the Buy Box, another seller had it for $71.
In each case, both options had identical Prime shipping terms. But AG said Amazon’s “biased” algorithm “put a thumb on the scale” for its own listings—costing consumers more.
🪤 The Prime trap
AG also took aim at Amazon’s pre-2023 Prime cancellation flow, calling it a “roach motel”: easy to enter, hard to escape.
- Claim: Back then, cancelling required at least 6 clicks. This friction reduced cancellations by 14%, all while ads claimed you could “cancel anytime.”
- Reason for previous dismissal: The original lawsuits didn’t fit Arizona’s Consumer Fraud Act definition of ‘merchandise.’
- What’s new: New filings argue Prime is a “service” that counts as “merchandise” under the law, meaning deceptive cancellation design could qualify as fraud.
🛡️ Amazon’s response
Amazon denies everything, saying the cases show a “fundamental misunderstanding” of how its business works, and that they were filed without reviewing a single Amazon document.
Check out the AG’s previous statement here.
BIG IDEA
Top sellers say TikTok Shop is the new Amazon
Before Amazon, there was eBay. Now, seasoned sellers say history’s on repeat, but the breakout star isn’t another marketplace, it’s TikTok Shop.
According to Business Insider, sellers who ignore TikTok Shop are already falling behind. Here’s why.
🗨️ Word on the street
The platform’s live selling feature is especially hot with brands moving tens of thousands of units in hours.
- Leo Limin, longtime Amazon seller and founder of JoinBrands, calls TikTok Shop “explosive” because every user can become your affiliate.
- Eugene Khayman, COO of Million Dollar Sellers, says relying on Amazon alone is riskier than ever in today’s competitive market.
Not everyone’s cashing in, though—Kyle Goguen, co-founder of CRBN pickleball, found that TikTok’s price-conscious shoppers are less likely to drop $200 on a paddle without viral hype to back it.
🧠 Sales insights
TikTok may still go dark—unstable as it is—but it definitely has lessons to teach.
Sellers in 2025 can’t afford to put all their eggs in the Amazon basket, diversifying across platforms is key. And for those willing to adapt quickly, mastering live selling could unlock massive early growth before the space becomes saturated.
