Secondhand booksellers in UK and Ireland suspect AI firms behind ‘strange’ bulk orders
Secondhand booksellers across the UK and Ireland report receiving unusually large, varied orders from obscure buyers, prompting speculation that artificial intelligence companies may be buying books to scan and use as training data. The activity matters because it is disrupting normal secondhand-book trade patterns and may reflect a growing demand for material not readily available in digital form.
Orders have included unrelated and highly specific titles, such as an Estonian edition of a John le Carré novel and a 1983 magazine, rather than conventional subject-based collections. Barter Books sold hundreds of books to three buyers for about £4,000, while one anonymous UK seller received orders for 6,000 books since January; buyers reportedly paid full prices and sometimes sent purchases to freight warehouses near Heathrow. The reports follow scrutiny of Anthropic’s spending on books for “data acquisition” and similar unusual demand reported by booksellers internationally.
- Booksellers suspect AI firms are behind unusual bulk purchases.
- Orders are varied, specific and often paid at full price.
- Demand may be disrupting the secondhand book market.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of AI firms acquiring physical books for training data argue that books are a valuable part of human knowledge and that purchasing lawful copies supports authors, publishers and secondhand sellers. They may contend that analysing texts can help develop useful language tools, including research, translation and accessibility services, while buying books rather than relying on illicit copies is a more responsible route to obtaining material. From this view, concerns should be addressed through clear licensing rules and compensation arrangements, not by treating all data acquisition as inherently improper.
The case against
Critics argue that unusually large, opaque purchases can undermine the expectation that authors and rights holders retain meaningful control over how their work is used, even where a physical copy has been lawfully bought. They may say that scanning books to build commercial AI systems is materially different from ordinary reading or resale, and that individual creators should be asked and paid rather than having their work absorbed into vast datasets without consent. From this perspective, transparency, licensing and fair remuneration are necessary to protect creative livelihoods and public trust.
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