Automated mail sorting has been in place for years (decades in fact). The mail is thrown on belts or taken from hampers and loaded onto trays at the sorting machines. The machines pull the mail through the system and is either keyed by clerks or interpreted by ocular reading devices (called OCR's in the 80's... but imagine technology/ name has changed) These machines of course sort the mail much more quickly and accurately than manual clerks (*rofl* maybe ) - at a rate of something like 10,000 pieces of mail an hour (25-50 pieces a second.)
I am a former postal worker - but been gone so long, I can't imagine how fast they're sorting now.

Here's what happens: the mail is moving (used to be from a vertical position which is "weak" for paper) so quickly that when a piece gets jammed, it and the 100 pieces behind it get shredded and accordianed up before the machine or operator can react to the problem.

THINGS THAT ARE MOST LIKELY TO CONTRIBUTE TO JAMS ARE: staples, paper clips, "uneven thickness" (thicker on one side of envelope than the other), "shifting contents "(like a chip in cardboard, flip or a couple keys or slotcards)that shift from side to side in an envelope, contents that are too thick to be machinable (not sure what the standard is anymore... 1/4" to 1/2" I suppose), TAPE, labels and even postage stamps that have lifted and have either created an uneven surface - or (HERE'S TROUBLE) have stuck to another piece of mail, and envelopes in poor condition.

And of course, the machines jam without reason too. In fact - back when I worked there, they jammed a lot. And I worked in re-wrap for a while (where damaged mail goes) and saw a significant amount of mail that was damaged beyond repair, recognition or with the ability to forward.

The USPS "Productivity goal" used to be 95%. Higher, of course, is better but anything above 95% was acceptable. So if an automated sorting machine processes 80,000 pieces of mail per shift and with one jam per hour, a loss of 800 pieces is 1% which is well within acceptable productivity guidelines.

When you think about the big GMF's (General Mail Facilities) who run dozens of machines (in every major city across the world), we should all assume that eventually (if you haven;t already) get our mail in a baggie with the "Damaged by USPS" insert that has been shorn in half or is crumbled up like a paper fan.

Bubble envelopes are not sorted in the same machinery as "letters' which is WHY they are a better choice for mailing anything besides paper.

If you're going to mail something (chips, slot cards, postcards, anything with more "density" than paper) and you're using a regular envelope... there are a few tricks to that might encourage a safe journey.

1. Print (yes - PRINT!) the words "HAND STAMP" in bold, clear (preferable red) letters in marker - once on front- and once on back.
Do not address your letter in the same marker... the "HAND STAMP" should be distinctly bolder in contrast than any other writing on the envelope.
The words HAND STAMP on front should be to the left of the delivery address. Do NOT write it under the delivery address or along the bottom. Postal workers are trained to recognize, cull and sort various types of mail by hand and on LSM's - Letter Sorting Machines - at a rate of 60-70 pieces per minute (one per second). Certain formats jump out at clerks. Chips (and slotcards, keys. etc) make perfect jam-masters - so if you can, take some steps to keep them OUT of the accelerated processing systems.

2. Make sure the contents are distributed or packaged so the envelope is the same thickness through out. Make sure the contents can't "shift" or move around inside envelope.

3. If the flap won't stick (or you have to reopen for some reason)- use a glue stick instead of tape to seal. Better yet - use a new envelope.

Sorry - long post... We have had many threads on this board to prevent "Going Postal"

Sorry about your chips Terry.
I'd have someone in the buyer's "old neighborhood" knock on the door and ask for your chips back!