The global secondhand book market reached an estimated $26.96 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to $37.27 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of roughly 6.7%, according to a 2026 market report from The Business Research Company. The same research places the 2026 market size at approximately $28.8 billion.
Growth drivers cited in the report include rising literacy rates, expanding online marketplaces, sustained demand for affordable textbooks, and growing interest in vintage and collectible editions. Major platforms named in the report include Amazon, eBay, ThriftBooks, AbeBooks, Better World Books, and Alibris, alongside a long tail of independent sellers.
A separate analysis from Zoombooks, aimed at wholesale book buyers, points to online retail's outsized role in the shift: online channels accounted for more than 51% of the broader book market in 2025, unifying new and used inventory in single shopping experiences in a way that has drawn new buyers into the used-book segment who previously bought only new.
For everyday readers rather than wholesale buyers, the growth translates into a deeper, more searchable secondhand market — our out-of-print book sourcing guide covers the specific marketplaces worth checking first.
Sources: The Business Research Company, Zoombooks.