Dive Brief:

• Amazon.com Inc. has signed agreements with Purdue University, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and the University of California-Davis to sell textbooks and other college bookstore items online.
• Amazon and the universities will operate co-branded websites, and the company is planning on-campus centers where students can pick up the items purchased online from code-activated lockers or Amazon employees, the Wall Street Journal reports.
• The push into the $10.3 billion college bookstore market will pit Amazon against the current leaders, which include Barnes & Noble Inc. and Follett Corp.

Dive Insight:

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once famously uttered, “Your margin is my opportunity,” and many students would agree that college bookstore markups are leaving plenty of room for opportunity. Amazon will pay the three universities 0.5% to 2.5% of the website purchases, with the University of Massachusetts receiving at least $1.45 million over three years and Purdue getting at least $1.7 million over four years. The deals are not exclusive.