Price Policy

To prevent customers from having negative experiences when buying an item via bol, there are some guidelines for setting prices. This keeps it fair and clear for everyone.

1. Relevant market prices

To determine the best selling price, we calculate the relevant market price. We first look at the price of the same item from other providers. If there aren't any, we consider the recommended retail price and the historical platform price. When 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. If a benchmark has a longer delivery time than 14 days, we will not compare your item with it.
• We sometimes also include benchmarks from physical stores.
• We exclude benchmarks from business-to-business, second-hand, or unreliable providers.
• Benchmarks don't have to be exactly the same:
  • Items with the same specifications but a different “white label” are also considered a competitive market price.
  • We also don't differentiate between items based on product specifications that generally don't cause a price difference, such as different colors/sizes.
• To determine the best selling price, we calculate the maximum allowed market price, in short: MTP. bol does not display items with a price above the MTP on the platform. To reach the Maximum Allowed Price, a buffer is included on top of the benchmark and shipping costs. This means you don't have to use the exact benchmark price including shipping costs; you retain room to set your own price.
• If we don't have 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. Promotions, second-hand items, and seasonal items are not included 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 include a certain buffer on top of the historical price. This way, we also account for possible inflation/price increases.

2. Equal prices
Customers compare prices online. That's why it's important that prices for the same item are as similar as possible. The shipping costs are part of the relevant market price.

3. Logical second-hand prices
If you sell a second-hand item via bol that is also offered as a new item, the price of the second-hand item (including shipping costs and excluding service contribution) may never be higher than the new item price - €1.99. If no new item price is known, we look at the maximum price for which a new item could be offered.

In Belgium, additional rules apply to certain aspects:

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

When setting your price, it's important to consider a few things:

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's possible that your purchase price is higher than the price bol offers. Our purchase price might be lower because bol buys in large quantities, allowing us to maintain a lower selling price.
3. It's 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 turn out lower.