USPS Postage Rates Went Up. Be Advised.

If you want an example of why the rates are going up, I'll cite one for you; I bought an item on line and it shipped on the 16th. Here where it gets strange, the first tracking was in Dallas, Tx, from there it went to Austin, then to Carrolton, then to my town of Cleveland, then to Houston, then back to Cleveland, and then back to Houston on the 20th. From there, the tracking stopped and then today the package was delivered today, 5 days late. Now for the even stranger part, the package originally shipped from a warehouse 40 miles from my house in Houston. If that is not a waste of time and money, I guess there isn't ANY logical explanation.