The bol.com buy box (koopblok) is the offer bol shows first when several partners sell the same item. bol picks the best offer at that moment on orderability, condition, price including shipping, delivery conditions and your quality score. To win it and keep it, you need a competitive price, a fast and reliable delivery promise, and service performance that meets bol’s published standards.
At a glance
- Buy box factors: orderability, condition, price, delivery conditions and quality score.
- Weighting: varies by category. Fast delivery counts most for everyday items, price more for furniture.
- Quality score: 0 to 100 over 22 weeks. Minimum 65, with extra benefits from 70.
- Ads: Sponsored Products only run on items that hold the buy box.
- Service: reply in the customer’s language. bol’s own guidance targets 90% of questions within 24 hours.
This guide assumes you already sell on bol or are preparing to. For eligibility, the international partner route and fees, see how to sell on bol.com.
How the bol.com buy box works
bol explains the buy box on its partner platform. When several partners offer the same item, one is selected for the buy box, and that greatly increases the chance that a basket addition comes from your offer.
The five factors bol lists
- Orderability: the item must be available to deliver.
- Condition: refurbished, second-hand and returned items are assessed separately.
- Price: including shipping and VAT. bol says a difference of EUR 0.01 has no impact.
- Delivery conditions: faster delivery, the order cut-off time and extra delivery options.
- Quality score: your service performance, covered below.
bol says the weight of each factor differs by category and is adjusted continuously based on customer behaviour. It does not publish exact weightings, so treat any formula you see elsewhere with caution.
Delivery promise matters more than many sellers expect
In its article on winning the buy box, bol says 55% of customers visit from Thursday to Sunday. It says moving your delivery promise to one business day has an extra significant effect, especially before the weekend.
Logistics via bol allows the promise “ordered before 23:59, delivered tomorrow”. If you ship yourself, only promise what your carrier reliably achieves, because late items hurt your quality score.
bol’s quality score and service standards
The quality score is measured across five service standards: items on time, cancellations, Track and Trace, returns and customer inquiries. bol calculates it over 22 weeks on a scale of 0 to 100, requires a minimum of 65 and gives extra benefits from 70.
Separately, missing a standard in a given week can earn a strike, which bol announces by email on Wednesdays. The table summarises the published norms we check most often.
| Standard | Norm as published by bol | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Cancellations | No more than 2% of items, strike from 3 or more cancelled items in a week | bol: cancellations |
| Items on time | Minimum 90%, target 93% for own delivery and 95% handover for Shipping via bol | bol: items on time |
| Response time | 90% of customer inquiries handled within 24 hours, weekends excluded | bol: response time |
bol says items on time will be split into two separately assessed standards from 27 July 2026. bol also adjusts norms temporarily, as it did for carrier delays around Pentecost 2026, so check your Performance page rather than relying on fixed numbers.
Cancellations you might not expect
Three types of cancellation count: ones you make yourself, customer cancellations after the promised delivery date, and orders cancelled automatically because you did not confirm them by the third day after the promised date. Keeping stock levels accurate in your feed prevents most of them.
Delivery promise settings
bol shows delivery times to customers as weekdays, but you enter them as business days. The customer’s order time sets the deadline, so an order placed before your cut-off must arrive on the promised day even if you see it later.
Under terms from June 2026, bol may treat an order as undelivered if it is more than two delivery days late and suspend payouts for it. Source: bol’s terms update.
Customer service in Dutch
Dutch-language customer service is one of bol’s criteria for international partners. From 27 February 2026, partners must answer customer emails in the customer’s language and may use translation tools, according to bol’s terms update.
bol’s customer questions guide says messages in Dutch, French or English are automatically translated in the seller account, and questions are flagged as open for a long time after 18 clock hours. In our experience, a Dutch speaker reviewing replies on complaints and returns protects ratings far better than translation alone.
Returns and refunds
Since 27 February 2026, partners must refund customer payments, including return shipping costs, within 14 days of the withdrawal notice. Refunds go through bol. Returns also feed into your quality score, so handle them quickly and log the reasons.
Sponsored Products and the buy box
bol’s Sponsored Products page says the item you advertise must be in the buy box. Ads are cost per click, you choose keywords, and you set budgets per campaign, per day and per month.
bol states that 78% of clicks on product pages come from the first page of search results. Because losing the buy box stops your ads, fix price, stock and delivery before you raise bids. Our marketplace PPC management service handles bol campaigns alongside buy box monitoring.
bol.com buy box checklist
- Stock levels in your feed match real availability.
- Price, including shipping and VAT, checked against competing offers.
- Delivery promise set in business days and achievable every day of the week.
- Next-day delivery considered for everyday items, through your carrier or Logistics via bol.
- Orders marked as shipped promptly, with Track and Trace.
- Cancellations kept well below 2%.
- Customer questions answered within 24 hours, in the customer’s language.
- Refunds processed within 14 days of the withdrawal notice.
- Quality score checked weekly on the Performance page.
- Sponsored Products only on items that hold the buy box.
Need a team to run this daily? See our bol.com marketplace management service.
Frequently asked questions
What decides who wins the bol.com buy box?
bol lists orderability, condition, price including shipping and VAT, delivery conditions and your quality score. The weight of each factor varies by category and changes with customer behaviour.
What quality score do I need on bol.com?
bol requires a minimum quality score of 65 out of 100, calculated over 22 weeks. Partners with a score of 70 or higher receive extra benefits.
Can I advertise on bol.com without the buy box?
No. bol states that the item you advertise with Sponsored Products must be in the buy box, so ads stop showing when you lose it.
Do I have to reply to bol.com customers in Dutch?
Since 27 February 2026 you must answer customer emails in the customer’s language, which for most bol customers is Dutch. Translation tools are allowed, and bol translates Dutch, French and English messages in the seller account.
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