What is Bol.com? Bol.com Review, Features

Bol.com is the largest e-commerce platform in the Benelux region. It has 16,000 sellers providing more than 15 million products to more than 7.5 million active consumers. It has a strong brand influence and is deeply loved by consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium. Its sales of products such as books, toys and electronic products far exceed Amazon.

Main Features

Bol.com operates similarly to Amazon, selling products directly to consumers and also accepting third-party sellers.

Bol.com has logistics services and a large distribution network in the Netherlands.

Bol.com handles all payments, limiting financial risk;

·Commissions are divided by category, with a fixed ratio.

Entry requirements

Bol.com hopes that sellers will answer these questions before joining:

Are the products being sold within the existing categories on the platform?

Does the product have an EAN and ISBN?

Can it be shipped within 1-8 working days?

Has the seller been registered with the Dutch Ministry of Commerce or the Belgian Trade Register for more than 10 weeks and has a VAT number?

Do you agree to allow customers to return products within 30 days?

Can you respond to customer questions within 24 hours?

Comply with Bol.com platform standards?

The above conditions are necessary for registering Bol.com. Chinese sellers may not currently have a registration number or tax number with the Netherlands Ministry of Commerce, but there are some third-party agencies on the market that can help Chinese sellers register companies and handle tax registration in the Netherlands.

In addition, in order to ensure the authenticity of product information, Bol.com currently does not support newly registered users to sell jewelry products. Sellers must also agree to the following website terms:

Sellers must be responsible for the products they sell. The products must be legal and the sellers must have relevant product certificates.

Buyers can return goods for free. This clause applies to large products;

Bol.com’s billing cycle is one month;

Product pricing must be in line with market conditions;

The seller is responsible for the product description and product images.

Registration Process

Step 1 : Before opening a seller account, we need to register a buyer account on Bol.com. The buyer account is the account we use as a customer to place orders on Bol.com.

Step 2 : Log in to your buyer account. In the Welcome drop-down menu, you will see "Seller Account", then click "Seller Account". Follow the prompts on the page and fill in the relevant information, including contact information, store name and bank account number.

Step 3 : Check the information filled in the second step and click to agree to the website terms and register a seller account.

Step 4 : Bol.com will send an email to the registered seller, asking the seller to reconfirm the account registration. The seller will then receive a letter with a confirmation code within 2 working days, which will be delivered to the seller's mailbox. When the seller logs in to the seller account, Bol.com will ask the seller to enter the confirmation code. At this point, we have successfully opened a seller account on Bol.com, and then we can list products and start selling.

Shop opening costs

Bol.com does not charge sellers for setting up a store or using the platform. Sellers only need to pay a sales commission. The sales commission varies per (sub)category and includes a fixed amount and a percentage of the sales price (including VAT).

A fixed commission ranging from 1 euro to 3 euros and a commission of 6% to 15% of sales are charged for each order. For example, electronic products are charged 3 euros + 6% of sales as commission; baby clothing is charged 1 euro + 12% of sales.

Platform Category

Bol.com’s current categories:

·Books: new and second-hand;

Music: new and second-hand;

DVD: new and second-hand;

Games: New (no PC games);

Electronic products (no subscription);

·Toy;

Baby products;

·computer;

Cooking and dining;

·Beauty and health products (non-pharmaceuticals);

Pet products;

Gardening and DIY products;

·Household items;

Sports and leisure products;

Jewelry and watches;

Infant and toddler clothing.

Combined and separate accounts

Bol.com offers sellers the opportunity to sell in both the Netherlands and Belgium simultaneously. Sales in these two neighboring countries can be done in two ways, either through a combined selling account (combined account) or through separate accounts for each country. The differences and pros and cons of these two solutions include:

Combined account : A combined account is a sales account where you can sell in both the Netherlands and Belgium. To sell through a combined account, you must comply with our service standards. Combined accounts are easy to manage for sellers, as you can manage products and pricing all at once.

Separate accounts for each country : Sellers have a separate account for selling in the Netherlands and Belgium. Neither account can switch sales scope. Separate accounts can set prices by country, set different shipping deadlines, etc.

Awards and Honors

Bol.com became the largest retail brand in the Netherlands in 2015.

In 2018, Bol.com was voted the best retail brand in the Netherlands for the fourth time in a row.

Development History

-In 1999, Daniel Ropers founded Bertelsmann Online (abbreviated as "Bol").

-In 2011, Bol.com sold 17 million items and achieved a turnover of 355 million euros.

-In May 2012, Ahold announced the acquisition of Bol.com, the most visited e-commerce website in the Netherlands, for 350 million euros.

- In 2014, Bol.com achieved sales of more than 100 million euros and offered 9.8 million products to customers in the Netherlands and Belgium.

-In 2015, Bol.com's annual revenue reached 730 million euros.