VarsityBooks.com Partners With Sallie Mae

Online college bookseller VarsityBooks.com on Thursday inked a deal with Sallie Mae, the student loan provider, that calls for each company to promote the other on their Web sites and in promotions.

The agreement calls for VarsityBooks.com to build a co-branded site, and provide Sallie Mae’s customers with coupons and savings messages, which will be distributed in the loan company’s mailings, emails, and other communications to its borrowers.

VarsityBooks.com also gets exclusive placement in the book category in Sallie Mae’s new retail site, which will launch early next year.

The deal brings together two companies trying to capitalize on the college market. Sallie Mae gets its customers discounts on textbooks, while VarsityBooks.com extends its reach to millions of potential customers, at just the time when they are seeking information about college.

“VarsityBooks.com helps to reduce the cost of higher education for college students across the country,” says Eric Kuhn, VarsityBooks.com’s president and chief executive officer.

“We are excited about providing Sallie Mae customers — students and graduates alike — with savings on their books and access to additional scholarship programs, job services, and communications tools.”