Pulp nonfiction A 404 investigation reveals that Amazon is buying used books in bulk and scanning them in a warehouse in Las Vegas—often destroying the texts in the process. • 3 min read TL;DR: For months, booksellers wondered why they were receiving bulk orders for a bunch of obscure used books. Now they may have an answer: An Amazon facility in Las Vegas appears to be processing used books and digitizing them, presumably to train its AI. What happened: 404 Media says it got a bookseller to plant an Apple AirTag in a book that was a part of a large order. The AirTag took a rather circuitous journey, from California to Milwaukee, then Colorado, before it arrived at an Amazon facility in Vegas. That facility contains a previously unknown warehouse called VGT3, marked by a logo of a menacing dinosaur gripping a book. There, workers spend their time scanning rare books—sometimes destroying them in the process. We don’t know much else about the operation: An Amazon spokesperson only confirmed to 404 that the company “purchases books through commercial channels to help develop and improve the products and services our customers use.” The “rare” used books mystery: Booksellers noticed the unprecedented uptick in used book sales because of the order sizes and the kind of books being purchased. The texts are considered “rare” because they cover niche topics and few copies remain—an example being How to Use Corel WordPerfect 1991, per one bookseller. So we’re not talking about a first-edition James Joyce. Still, the trend couldn’t definitively be connected to AI firms until now. Tech Brew breaks down the biggest tech news, emerging innovations, workplace tools, and cultural trends so you can understand what's new and why it matters. By subscribing, you accept our Terms & Privacy Policy. Not just