Selling on bol: fees, requirements and how to start in 2026

How selling on bol works

bol (formerly bol.com) is the best known online store in the Netherlands and Belgium. Next to its own stock, businesses sell their products there as "partners". On 30 June 2026 bol had 14 million customers, 43,095 sales partners and 73 million items.¹

As a partner you add an offer to an existing product page, or you create a new page with your EAN. When several partners sell the same product, bol decides who gets the buy box (bol calls it the "koopblok"): the offer behind the "add to cart" button. More on that under ranking higher.

You set your own price and stock. You ship orders yourself, or bol stores and ships them for you with Logistics via bol (LVB). bol collects the payment from the customer and pays you out, minus its commission.

Who can sell on bol from outside the Netherlands and Belgium?

Companies based in the Netherlands or Belgium sign up themselves. Sellers from other EU countries can only start by invitation. bol says it looks for partners that:¹⁵

For the registration itself bol asks for a valid trade register entry in your country, a VAT number from that country, an e-commerce NACE code, some online presence (a website or another platform you sell on), details of the ultimate beneficial owners, a valid ID and an active payment account in a SEPA country. German sole traders (Einzelunternehmen) and Polish sole traders (JDG) are not supported.¹⁶

What does selling on bol cost?

There is no subscription and listing your products is free. You only pay when you sell.² The commission has two parts:

• A fixed amount per item, depending on the product type and the sales price.
• A percentage of the sales price including VAT, depending on the product type and sometimes the price.

The commission itself is excluding VAT. Partners from another EU country give bol their VAT number and the VAT on the commission is reverse charged.²

Commission per category (October 2026)

From bol's commission table (October 2026 file), excluding VAT. Category names translated from Dutch. bol calls the table an estimate: you see the exact amount per item in your seller account.²

Other costs

When do you get paid?

By default bol pays out twice a month: on the first working day after the 1st and after the 15th, with a 7-day reserve. You can also choose once a month without a reserve. A change takes effect from the next quarter.³

How to get started on bol

Once you have your invitation, the process takes about a week. Most of that time is bol's review.¹⁶

1. Apply with the formFill in bol's English form for EU partners and wait for the invitation link.
2. Prepare your documentsTrade register entry, VAT number, NACE code, UBO details, ID and bank account.
3. Register your companyAbout 15 minutes. Your details are checked by Duna, an external provider.
4. Wait for the review3 to 5 working days.
5. Set up your seller accountAbout 30 minutes: e-learning, selling in the Netherlands, Belgium or both, shop name, contact details and a return address.
6. Final check1 working day. You can only log in after the confirmation email.
7. Start sellingAdd products, prices and stock. Your first 100 orders fall in the "GroeiStart" period with extra support from bol.

Logistics via bol or shipping yourself?

You choose how you ship per product. With Logistics via bol (LVB), bol stores your stock and handles picking, packing, shipping, customer service and returns.⁶ If you ship yourself, your carrier must deliver to the Netherlands and Belgium within the delivery time you promise.

LVB fees 2026

Excluding VAT and commission. New rates for 3XS and XXS apply since 9 September 2026. XL and larger have separate rates.⁶

Watch the surcharges: storage costs 40% more in November and December, and stock older than 180 days pays double storage (with exceptions such as clothing and shoes). Retrieving or destroying stock costs €0.45 per item.⁶

bol shipping labels

If you ship within the Netherlands or Belgium yourself, you can use bol's labels. The price depends on your shipments per year:⁷

Excluding VAT. There are 5 more tiers in between. bol recalculates your tier every quarter based on the last 52 weeks.

Service standards: what bol measures

bol scores your performance from 0 to 100: a weighted average of 5 standards over the last 22 weeks. The minimum is 65. From 70 you get access to Select Deals. If you stay at 64 or lower, bol can close your account after a warning and 4 months to improve.⁸

Weekends and public holidays do not count for the response time.⁹

How strikes work

A strike stays for 22 weeks. With 1 to 4 strikes you get an email. At 5 strikes bol closes your shop temporarily and you hand in an improvement plan within 3 weeks. 6 strikes is your last chance, at 7 bol closes your account for at least a year. Two excellent weeks in a row remove a strike.⁹

Ranking higher on bol: what actually works

There are two things: winning the buy box when several partners sell the same product, and ranking high in the search results. bol is open about the buy box. It says little about search ranking, so be critical of tools that promise exact formulas.

What bol says about the buy box

bol picks the offer based on these points, with a different weighting per category:¹⁰

• Availability: is your product in stock?
• Condition: new or second-hand.
• Price including shipping and VAT. One cent cheaper makes no difference.
• Delivery time and options, such as LVB with the Select label.
• Your quality score. The higher, the better your chances.

What else you control

1. Complete your contentA good title, every attribute filled in and several images. bol requires complete content before you can advertise.¹¹
2. Keep your score above 70Deliver on time, do not cancel and answer questions within 24 hours, in Dutch.
3. Promise a delivery time you can meetFast is good, but late deliveries cost you points.
4. Advertise with Sponsored ProductsYou pay per click and your product must hold the buy box. bol advises €15 a day to start.¹¹
5. Stay in stockA product without stock drops out of the buy box. Stock that updates automatically from your store or wholesaler prevents that.

Selling books on bol

Books have extra rules.¹²

• Dutch fixed book price: new Dutch-language books may not be sold below the fixed price, and you may only add shipping costs of up to €7. bol enforces the upper limit since 15 June 2026 and the lower limit since 19 August 2026.¹³
• Foreign-language books, second-hand books, e-books and school books are not covered by the fixed price.
• Second-hand is only allowed for books, music, games and films.
• E-books are sold through Kobo Writing Life only, not as a partner.
• Commission: 5 to 17.5% plus €0.20 to €1.85 per book.

Selling books in Belgium? Books in Belgium is a marketplace for books only, which you can connect next to bol.

When does an integration pay off?

bol asks sellers from other EU countries to connect through a bol-certified API partner, and keeps its own list of certified partners.¹⁵¹⁴ Check that list when you choose a tool. Beyond bol's requirement, an integration pays off when manual work starts causing mistakes:

• You sell the same stock in your own store, on bol and on other marketplaces.
• You have hundreds or thousands of products, or your product data comes from a wholesaler.
• You want to add Kaufland, eBay or other marketplaces after bol.
• You sometimes cancel an order because stock was wrong.

StoreLinkr takes products, stock and prices from your online store (WooCommerce, Shopify or SitePack), POS system or wholesaler, publishes your offers on bol and sends bol orders back to your store.

Selling in more countries? See marketplaces by country, for example the marketplaces in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Frequently asked questions about selling on bol