Why sell via bol.com?
Bol.com is the largest online marketplace in the Netherlands and Belgium with millions of active customers. As a seller, you get access to this huge customer base without having to invest in expensive marketing campaigns yourself. Customers trust the bol.com platform, which often results in higher conversion rates than on your own webshop.
But bol.com is more than just a sales channel. The platform offers fulfillment services (LVB – Logistics Via Bol), marketing tools, customer reviews, and extensive reporting. For many entrepreneurs, bol.com is the ideal addition to their own Shopify or WooCommerce webshop – or even the primary sales channel.
However, successfully managing a bol.com store requires the right approach. From optimal product content to correct pricing, from stock management to fast shipping, and from VAT-compliant invoicing to achieving high customer satisfaction scores. In this guide, we discuss all essential aspects.
Setting up your bol.com store: The first steps
Starting as a bol.com seller begins with creating a Partner account via the bol.com Partner Plaza. You need: a Chamber of Commerce number, VAT number, bank account number, and proof of identity. After approval, you get access to the Seller Portal where you manage all your activities.
The next step is uploading products. This can be done manually via the Partner Plaza or automated via the bol.com API. For a few products, manual uploading works fine, but as soon as you have dozens or hundreds of SKUs, API integration becomes essential. Many entrepreneurs use tools that automatically synchronize their Shopify or WooCommerce catalog with bol.com.
Pay close attention to product content: bol.com has high standards for titles, descriptions, and images. Products with good content and high-quality photos convert much better. Use all available fields (specifications, EAN codes, stock status) to maximize your findability.
Invoicing for bol.com: Why this is essential
A common misconception is that bol.com provides invoices itself. That is incorrect: as a seller, you are responsible for providing VAT-compliant invoices to customers. This is not only a legal obligation but also important for customer trust and your own administration.
However, manually creating invoices for every bol.com order is unsustainably time-consuming. With 10 orders a day, this already means more than an hour of work per day – time you could better spend on growth. Moreover, manual work increases the risk of errors: wrong VAT rates, forgotten invoices, or duplicate numbers.
Winkel Factuur solves this as an official bol.com partner. Via the bol.com Retailer API, we automatically retrieve your orders, generate VAT-compliant invoices (including correct OSS application for EU sales), and upload them to the bol.com customer portal. Customers receive their invoice automatically, and you have a complete archive for the tax authorities.
LVB (Logistics Via Bol) vs own shipping
Bol.com offers two shipping options: own shipping (FBR – Fulfilled By Retailer) or via the bol.com distribution center (LVB – Logistics Via Bol, similar to Amazon FBA). Both have pros and cons.
LVB advantages: Fast delivery (often within 24 hours), no worries about packing and shipping, access to bol.com Premium badge (increases conversion), automatic return handling. You send stock to the bol.com warehouse and they handle the rest.
LVB disadvantages: You pay storage costs and fulfillment fees (variable by product size). You have less control over the customer experience (packaging, inserts). With slow-moving stock, storage costs can add up.
FBR advantages: Lower costs per order (no LVB fees), full control over packaging and branding, flexibility with special requests. Suitable for large or fragile products.
FBR disadvantages: You have to ship yourself (time and manpower), harder to guarantee next-day delivery, higher pressure to ship within 24 hours for good scores.
Many sellers use a hybrid approach: fast-moving products via LVB, slow-moving or large products via FBR. Winkel Factuur supports both workflows with automatic invoicing.
Customer satisfaction and bol.com scores
Bol.com works with a scoring system that has a major impact on your visibility and sales. The most important metrics are: delivery reliability (% orders sent on time), return rate, customer service response time, and customer reviews (stars). High scores result in better positioning in search results.
To maintain high scores, speed is essential. Orders should preferably be shipped within 24 hours, customer questions answered within a few hours. This is easier said than done if you also sell via other channels or have a limited team.
Automation helps enormously. With Winkel Factuur, invoices are generated immediately after an order, so customers have their administration in order quickly. Couple this with automatic shipping notifications and you maximize customer satisfaction with minimal effort. Review requests can also be automated via email templates.
Connecting bol.com to your Shopify or WooCommerce webshop
Many successful online entrepreneurs sell not only via bol.com but also via their own webshop (Shopify, WooCommerce). This multichannel strategy maximizes reach: bol.com for volume and trust, own webshop for higher margins and customer data.
The challenge is to keep stock, prices, and product data synchronized between both channels. Manual updating quickly leads to errors: products that are sold out on bol.com but still for sale in your webshop (or vice versa), price differences that confuse customers, or double sales.
That is why API integration is essential. With tools that connect Shopify/WooCommerce to bol.com, you synchronize stock in real-time. Do you sell a product in your webshop? The stock on bol.com is updated immediately. For invoicing, Winkel Factuur centralizes all orders – bol.com, Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon – in one dashboard with automated workflow.
VAT and OSS with bol.com sales
A common pitfall for bol.com sellers is the incorrect application of VAT rules, especially when selling to customers in other EU countries. By default, you apply Dutch VAT (21% or 9%), but under certain conditions, you must use the rate of the customer's country.
This falls under OSS (One-Stop-Shop) regulations. There are thresholds per country (often €10,000 per year), and once you exceed them for a country, you must file OSS returns there. Bol.com reports your sales per country but does not automatically calculate the correct VAT – that is your responsibility as a seller.
Winkel Factuur's VAT engine knows all 27 EU rates and automatically applies the correct rules per invoice. You get timely warnings when you approach an OSS threshold, so you can prepare for new filing obligations. This prevents costly errors during tax audits.
Reporting and analysis for growth
Bol.com offers extensive reporting in the Seller Portal: sales figures, conversion rates, return rates, and competitive analyses. But if you sell multichannel (bol.com + own webshop + possibly Amazon), you want to be able to analyze this data centrally.
Winkel Factuur offers a dashboard where you can compare revenue, profit margins, and VAT obligations between all sales channels. Which channel performs best? Which products convert well on bol.com but poorly in your webshop? Where is your highest margin?
These insights are worth gold for strategic decisions. You might discover that certain product categories perform better on bol.com (due to search traffic), while premium products sell better via your own Shopify shop (where you have more control over the customer journey). With this data, you can optimize your marketing and stock.
Frequently asked questions about selling on bol.com
How much does it cost to sell via bol.com?
Bol.com charges a sales commission between 5-15% depending on the product category. When using LVB, storage and fulfillment fees are added. There are no fixed monthly costs to start.
Can I sell internationally via bol.com?
Yes, bol.com is also active in Belgium. You can make your assortment available for both markets. For other countries, you must use other platforms.
How long does it take for my products to go live?
After upload, products are usually approved and visible within 24-48 hours. NOTE: products with incomplete content are rejected.
Do I have to make VAT invoices for all bol.com orders?
Yes, as a seller you are legally obliged to provide VAT invoices. Winkel Factuur automates this completely as an official bol.com partner.
Can I combine bol.com with Amazon Seller?
Absolutely. Many entrepreneurs sell via both platforms. Winkel Factuur supports multichannel invoicing for bol.com, Amazon, Shopify, and WooCommerce in one system.