Everything about starting to sell on bol.com in 2024

Getting Started with Selling on Bol.com

Bol.com offers a vast marketplace for sellers in the Netherlands and Belgium, providing access to millions of customers. Starting as a seller on this platform can significantly boost the visibility of your products and increase your sales. By showcasing your products in Bol.com's virtual storefront, you can benefit from their hundreds of thousands of visitors with buying intent. Planning to start selling on Bol in 2024 and looking for more information? We've listed the key things for a smooth start.

Creating a Selling Account on Bol.com

The first step is to create a selling account on Bol.com. Visit the official partner page of Bol.com to get started. This process requires some basic information about your business, including your Chamber of Commerce (KVK) and VAT numbers. It's important that you fill in all the required information correctly and completely. Don't have a business yet? Avoid entering nonsense data, as your account won't be approved. You always need a business to sell on Bol.com, as we've previously explained in our article about selling on Bol without a Chamber of Commerce number.

How Does Selling on Bol.com Work?

Once you have a selling account, you can sell virtually any imaginable item on Bol, as long as they fall within one of the hundreds of categories. You can offer your own brand of products, other brands, and even refurbished items. Bol.com handles the payment transactions, where customers pay Bol.com, and Bol.com then pays you. As a seller, you take care of the product information, shipping, and customer service. It's important to know that you don't pay any fees if nothing is sold; you only pay a commission on actual sales. As long as you don't sell anything, you incur no costs.

Finding Products That Sell Well

Choosing the right products is essential for success on Bol.com. Focus on products that are in demand and avoid saturated markets with extremely high competition. Using product research tools can help with this, but you might also find our list of products that sell well on Bol interesting. Bol also publishes a quarterly list of so-called white & grey spots: this is a list of items that customers are looking for but are not yet sold on bol. If you don't have products to sell yet, this list can be a great starting point.

Shipping via Bol.com

As a seller, you can opt for Logistics through Bol (LVB), where Bol.com takes care of storage, packaging, and shipping of products. This can be a convenient option if you don't have the resources to manage logistics yourself. Companies that handle logistics for you – also known as fulfillment centers – often require a minimum order volume. As a starting seller, you may not be able to meet this, making Logistics through Bol a real solution. If you want to keep costs low and aren't yet sure if selling via Bol is for you, you can always ship your packages via PostNL or DHL yourself. You might not be able to offer the best service, but it's a good way to start.

Working with EAN Codes

Each product you want to sell on Bol.com must have an EAN code. If you import products or sell unique items and are not yet familiar with EAN codes, you may need to apply for new EAN codes through GS1 or another provider. There are (low) costs involved when applying for EAN barcodes. However, EAN codes are an important part of selling on Bol, as Bol uses these codes to identify products. So make sure you manage your EAN codes for your Bol products.

If multiple sellers offer the same product with the same EAN barcode, this offer is merged. The seller with the best partner score and price wins the purchase block, which essentially means sales are allocated to this seller.

Some starting sellers decide to invent an EAN code or reuse one from another: absolutely do not do this. Your EAN code must be unique to your own product.

Delivery Time, Returns, and Customer Service

Bol is known for their customer-friendly policy and good service. Bol tries in various ways to encourage their external sellers to offer the same service. For example, your products are shown higher in the search results if you offer a fast delivery time (ordered before 23:59, delivered tomorrow). It's also important to provide adequate customer service: you should, for instance, answer every question within one working day and be reachable by phone so the Bol partner service can call you if needed. Initially, this won't be much of a burden: you will probably start with a small number of orders, meaning you will receive few to no questions.

Costs for Selling on Bol

Selling on Bol.com brings various costs with it. With every sale you make through the platform, you pay a commission to Bol.com. This commission consists of a fixed amount per sold product plus a percentage of the sale price, which varies per product category. Additionally, there may be costs associated with using additional services such as Logistics through Bol and Sponsored Products, Bol.com’s own advertising service. If you already have your own webshop, you are probably familiar with these kinds of costs: they fall into the same category as, for example, the costs of a fulfillment center and Google Shopping.

Can You Make Money Selling on Bol.com in 2024?

Selling on Bol.com can be profitable in 2024, provided you sell the right products, manage your costs well, and smartly outmaneuver your competition. Bol's platform for sellers offers enormous opportunities in terms of visibility of your articles, a huge customer base, and consumer trust. With the right mix of a good product, optimized product information, and customer-focused service, you can turn these opportunities into high profits.