What to do with IC Chips?

That also depends on what the chips are. There is a market of collectors for a lot of chips, especially processors (CPUs, etc.) and older chips. Some of them are worth a lot of money. I've seen an Intel 4004 chip (the first microprocessor made by Intel) sell for almost $1,000. So it's a good idea to keep an eye out for certain chips that can be sold for much more than scrap value. Another good thing about selling chips is that they're pretty easy and inexpensive to ship.



Here's a list of some of the chips that collectors look for: Collectible Chips.txt
It's kind of a long list, but it's pretty easy to remember once you realize that most of the chips on it are processors, and most of those are grouped together in families (like the line of Intel x86 CPUs).

It's also a good idea to keep in mind that if you find old electronics, especially old computers and calculators (1980s and earlier), and even some TVs and audio equipment (especially with tubes), the item will usually be worth more if you don't take it apart. If there's a valuable chip inside it, collectors already know about it, and having the whole system along with the chip just makes it more valuable.