Pricing policy

To prevent customers from having negative experiences when buying something via bol, there are a number of guidelines for pricing. This keeps it fair and clear for everyone.

1. Relevant market prices

To determine the optimal selling price, we calculate the relevant market price. For this, we first look at the price of the same item from other providers. If there are none, we look at the recommended retail price and the historical platform price. If we compare your price with the price of the same item from other providers, these are the guidelines:

• Anything that can be shipped to the Netherlands or Belgium within acceptable delivery times, including shipping costs, is a valid benchmark. Does a benchmark have a delivery time longer than 14 days? Then we do not compare your item with this.
• We sometimes include benchmarks from physical stores.
• We exclude benchmarks from business-to-business, second-hand, or unreliable providers.
• Benchmarks do not have to be exactly the same:
  • Items with the same specifications but a different “white label” are also a competitive market price.
  • We also do not distinguish between items based on product specifications that generally do not cause a price difference, for example, different colors/sizes.
• To determine the optimal selling price, we calculate the maximum allowed market price, in short: MTP. bol does not show items with a price above the MTP on the platform. To arrive at the Maximum Allowed Price, a buffer is included on top of the benchmark and shipping costs. So, it is not the case that you have to use exactly the price of the benchmark including shipping costs. You retain room to determine your own price.
• If we have no benchmarks (a benchmark is a price comparison with another webshop), we calculate and use the historical price. We compare the average price of each item between 6 and 8 months ago with the average price in the past 2 months. We do not include promotions, second-hand items, and seasonal items in this. Based on this calculation, we determine the Maximum Allowed Price*: a price that is good for you and for our customers.

  *When calculating the Maximum Allowed Price based on the historical price, we take into account a certain buffer on top of the historical price. In this way, we also account for possible inflation/price increases.

2. Equal prices
Customers compare prices online. Therefore, it is important that prices of the same item are as similar as possible. The shipping costs are part of the relevant market price.

3. Logical second-hand prices
Are you selling a second-hand item via bol that is also offered as a new item? Then the price of the second-hand item (including shipping costs and excluding service contribution) may never be higher than the new price - €1.99. If no new price is known? Then we look at the relevant market price, as explained above.

In Belgium, additional rules apply to some things:

• There are legal conditions for sales periods;
• Items may be sold twice a year at heavily reduced prices;
• These periods are legally defined;
• Additional rules apply to the product categories clothing, leather goods, and shoes;
• All information about this can be found on the website of the Belgian government

In the Netherlands, many books have a fixed price. You may not sell these books for more than the set price. We check whether your offers comply with the Fixed Book Price Act. Your selling price in the Netherlands may not be higher than the fixed book price plus a maximum of €7 in shipping costs. Do you want to look up the fixed price of a title? Then visit devasteboekenprijs.nl.
These rules currently only apply to new books. We do not (yet) include second-hand books in our enforcement.

Consequences for your offer

If an offer does not comply with the rules? Then we will take it offline. If you adjust the price to the correct level? Then your offer will automatically go back online. At a later stage, we will also check for a lower limit. We will, of course, inform you about this in time.

It is important to consider a few things when setting your price:

1. The selling price you set includes shipping costs. You cannot charge shipping costs separately.
2. When calculating the relevant market price, bol is not included as a provider. We only look at competing providers and recommended retail prices. It is possible that your purchase price is higher than the price bol charges. The purchase price may be lower for us because bol buys in large quantities. This allows us to maintain a lower selling price.
3. It is possible that you follow the recommended retail price, but that the price is still above the relevant market price. The manufacturer and supplier determine the recommended retail price. If other relevant providers offer the same item cheaper than the recommended retail price, the relevant market price may be lower.