Addresses or conversations
Selling an email list versus licensing an email archive
Updated
An email list and an email archive come from the same mail system, but they are different assets. One is contact details; the other is the record of how the work was done.
What the AI buyers ask for
Maryah asks for email threads, sales histories and solved problems, not a contact list. Polyshares puts the value in a thread where two people disagree about a quote and work it out, and Grepped wants the chats and threads where people coordinate work and the reasoning behind their decisions.
Why a list of addresses is the hard part
A list of named addresses is personal data, so under UK GDPR it needs a lawful basis for any new use, and the people on it are owed notice within a month when their data comes from someone else. The buyers that take archives remove those addresses and names before delivery.
Source: UK GDPR, art. 14
If you hold the archive, not just the list
Tell us where the mail is kept and how many years it covers in the enquiry form, and see the vendors' terms on the home page board.