Secondhand book sales are rising sharply, and booksellers in the UK and elsewhere report receiving unusual bulk orders. Some booksellers say the purchases are large, repeated, and difficult to explain through normal retail demand. Multiple reports suggest the books are being acquired for use in AI-related activities, with some titles later being pulped or destroyed after processing.
The BBC frames the trend as a potential link between secondhand book flows and AI training needs, noting that large-scale sourcing and subsequent disposal could be consistent with how training data is gathered. Other discussion highlights uncertainty about the exact buyers’ identities and purposes, pointing to the limited visibility sellers have into end use. While the AI explanation is widely raised, the accounts do not conclusively confirm who is placing the orders or whether all bulk purchases are tied to AI. Overall, sources agree the pattern is emerging, but differ in how strongly they interpret it and what evidence they cite.
