Assortment policy

Our assortment policy contains all the conditions that apply to the offer of bol. Let's make it a shared effort to ensure that bol stands for reliability and quality. Only then will customers order from us with peace of mind.

Assortment policy

Policy points

In order to jointly provide customers with the best quality and service while avoiding unfair competition, it is important to combat undesirable issues such as fraud or counterfeit items. Therefore, we monitor policy violations and take action when necessary.

If you operate according to the conditions, there is little chance that you will ever face policy violations such as selling prohibited assortment or imitation items. However, in the event of a policy violation, a note will be made and the partner in question will be addressed. We do this because we strive to create a platform with a level playing field and to be clear about what the violations and consequences are.

Read more on policy points

Legislation

Your offer complies with the laws and regulations in the Netherlands and Belgium. Think about:

  1. the differences between Dutch and Belgian legislation
  2. the licenses and registrations you need from authorities
  3. the guidelines for importing, storing and shipping articles
  4. the obligations surrounding the product information you provide, such as warranties, claims and warning label

Healthy, safe and ethical

Your offer causes no suffering or harm during production or use. It is important to us that the items on our platform are ethically defensible. For example, we do not tolerate animal suffering, we put the safety and health of our customers above commercial interests, and in some cases we anticipate legislation. For example, when an item is up for debate or when it potentially harms users or their environment. Unwanted items are:

  1. Items that have no functionality other than criminal
  2. Items containing material of a protected plant or animal species
  3. Items containing fur
  4. Items for which child labor has been demonstrably used
  5. Items that can be associated with child abuse
  6. Items with a health or safety risk to the user
  7. Items included in the Safety Gate list
Check if your item is on the Safety Gate list

Customer expectations

Your items should meet customer expectations. We assume that you deliver items whose quality and delivery time match the expectations you create in the shop. Based on customer feedback — such as return statistics and customer inquiries — we track the extent to which your item matches customer expectations and how your items compare to similar items from other partners.

If there are large discrepancies between the statistics of your item and comparable items from other partners, you will receive an e-mail that a specific item is performing below standard. We ask you to improve the item as soon as possible to better meet customer expectations.

From the time you receive the email, you have 30 days to reduce customer inquiries and/or returns. After those 30 days, we will reassess whether the specific item is performing below standard. If the item is still performing below standard, the item will be blocked for you as a partner. If you still want to sell the item after that, please contact Partnerservice to request to put the item back online. Bol is authorized at all times to decide not to put the item back online.

Second-hand & Refurbished

Second-hand
You can only offer second-hand items or margin goods in the book, music and film categories. You cannot apply for selling rights for the other categories. It is therefore not possible to offer second-hand items other than books, music and films at bol.

Refurbished
The sale of refurbished products at bol has unfortunately been discontinued for the time being. This is because it is our responsibility to clearly show customers whether an item is refurbished, which is currently not technically possible. Neither can we solve this in the short term. Refurbished items were allowed in a closed group until January 2022. It is not allowed to offer a refurbished item.

This way, we try to avoid disappointing customers. To see how your items are performing, go to your seller dashboard.

  • On the page ‘Inzichten in jouw klantvragen’ (insights in your customer queries) in your seller dashboard, you will find the topics of questions your customers have. Use these insights to improve processes, items or content.
  • Would you like to have tips for preventing returns? Read more about it here.

Technology and logistics

The offer must fit the technology and logistics of our platform. The capabilities of our platform are tailored to the needs of our customers. Therefore, some items cannot be offered at bol because:

  1. We are not allowed to deliver these items to customers’ homes
  2. We cannot easily return these items
  3. These items require certain technical support, which we do not offer (yet)

Examples of items that are inappropriate:

  • Items without official retail packaging
  • Items of which the customer does not know the version until they receive it, such as items that have multiple versions or options under the same EAN
  • Items where there is no indication of what exactly is in the package, such as a Mystery Box
  • Items, such as food, that have a shelf life of less than 100 days
  • Live animals, such as insects
  • Promotional items, such as testers
  • Digital items, such as licenses
  • Subscriptions and memberships
  • Pre-release items
  • Items that do not belong within existing product categories
  • Services and (installation) services*
  • Fireworks, such as ice fountains, flares, Christmas crackers, starlets and firework dummies

> View more items you wouldn’t expect to be fireworks

*We are currently testing two service pilots. We are not allowed to offer services and installation outside of this pilot.