Amazon vs Bol.com in 2026

Your product sells. Your webshop runs. And now you want to move onto the marketplaces. The question that always follows: Amazon or bol.com, where do I start?

The honest answer is "it depends." But that buys you nothing. So let us break the choice down along the axes that matter operationally: reach, fees, logistics, Buy Box, advertising and data. With a decision framework at the end that lets you pick a direction today.

Why this question is different in 2026

For years the answer was simple: bol.com for the Netherlands, Amazon for everything else. That picture is tilting.

Amazon is investing 1.4 billion euro in Dutch logistics and infrastructure through 2027. Same-day delivery becomes the norm rather than the exception. And at the end of 2025, for the first time, more Dutch people searched for "Amazon" than for "Bol.com."

Bol.com is defending itself. The Groeibeloning programme, live from 1 July 2026, gives commission discounts to sellers who hit personal revenue targets. At the same time bol is opening its doors to non-EU sellers and building an external fulfilment network. So more supply, and more competition in almost every category.

Brussels plays a part too: from 1 July 2026 the 150 euro exemption for import shipments from outside the EU disappears. Direct-from-China gets more expensive. Good news for sellers who have their operation in order here.

So the choice is no longer a foregone conclusion. Walk the axes.

Reach and customer behaviour: where is your customer?

Bol.com is still the trusted starting point for the Dutch and Flemish online shopper. The platform feels local: Dutch customer service, familiar return processes, paying the way you are used to. For products that sell on trust, anything people would rather not order from an unknown party, that is a real advantage.

Amazon.nl is smaller, but growing fast alongside the infrastructure investments. And there is an argument that often gets forgotten: Amazon is a gateway to Europe. Whoever has their catalogue in order on Amazon.nl can use the same base to move to Amazon.de, a market where search volume in many categories is a multiple of the Dutch one.

Operator translation: if you mostly sell to NL/BE consumers, bol is your centre of gravity. If you think in European scale, Amazon is the more logical foundation.

Fees and margin impact: calculate at order level

Both platforms charge commission per category, plus costs for fulfilment, storage and returns. Those percentages differ per category and change regularly. I deliberately name no rates here: check the current fee tables of both platforms at the moment you calculate.

More important than the percentage is how you calculate. A commission percentage says little; the contribution margin per order says everything. Include shipping costs, return costs, storage costs and paid visibility. A product that runs 30% margin on paper can be negative after returns and advertising, and you only see that if you calculate per order, not per revenue line.

With bol, watch the Groeibeloning mechanism. A commission discount for hitting revenue targets sounds attractive, but it is mainly a signal: bol wants you to invest more in their platform. Work out whether the discount outweighs what you have to do for it.

Logistics: FBA versus LVB

On Amazon, fulfilment by the platform is called FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon); on bol it is called LVB (Logistiek via bol). The mechanism is comparable: you supply stock, the platform handles storage, shipping and returns, and rewards you with better visibility and a stronger delivery promise.

That last point is the real reason to consider it. The fulfilment method weighs into who wins the sale on both platforms. Shipping yourself is cheaper per unit, but costs you visibility and win rate. You have to make that sum per product, not per assortment.

Two operational notes. One: stock you send to a fulfilment centre is capital that is locked up. Only send products there whose demand is proven. Two: whoever goes across the border via FBA runs into VAT registrations. Amazon no longer arranges that for you, their own VAT service stopped at the end of 2024, so plan for an external tax partner and count on weeks, not days, of lead time.

Buy Box: the game for the sale

On both platforms the customer does not buy from "a seller," but from whoever wins the buy block, the Buy Box on Amazon, the koopblok on bol. Price, delivery speed, fulfilment method and account health all weigh in.

The difference is in the competitive pressure. On Amazon you compete on identical products with sellers from all over Europe and beyond; the Buy Box there is a black box you have to steer on daily. On bol that pressure was historically lower, but the opening to non-EU sellers is changing that playing field.

The reflex of many sellers: lower the price until you win. That is the fastest route to margin destruction. From experience: at a European consumer brand in hearing protection we did not tame the Buy Box volatility on bol with the lowest price, but with price alignment toward retail partners and rock-solid stock reliability. The result: dominant category market share (externally measured), strong sales peaks during campaigns and virtually no out-of-stock. The lesson: you win the buy block structurally on stability and delivery reliability, not on the lowest bid.

Advertising: deeper versus calmer

Amazon has the most mature advertising suite: Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, extensive targeting and a lot of data to steer on. That is an advantage if you put time into it, and a money shredder if you set it on autopilot.

Bol's advertising offering is more compact. Fewer buttons, less data, but also fewer sellers playing the game at the sharpest level. For a starter that is often more pleasant: you get to know the channel without immediately fighting specialised advertisers.

One warning that applies to both: do not steer blindly on ROAS. First check that your measurement infrastructure is correct and that your margin per order can carry the spend. A ROAS of 3 on a thin-margin product is simply a loss with a dashboard around it.

Data and tooling

Around Amazon there is a mature ecosystem of third-party tooling for keyword research, competitor analysis and inventory planning. For bol that offering is thinner; you do more by hand or build your own.

What you definitely do not do: copy content one to one between platforms. Bol shows product titles in full in the search results; on Amazon the first 80 characters have to do the work, because the bulk of the traffic is mobile. Same product data as the source, a separate presentation per platform. A feed tool helps with that, but only if the rules are set up per channel, and check your category mapping live on the platform itself, not in your tool's dropdown.

The decision framework

Start on bol.com if...

• Your customer sits almost entirely in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Your brand is unknown and trust is the buying argument.
• Your operational capacity is limited: one channel, close by, in your own language.

Start on Amazon if...

• You have European ambition, with Germany as the logical second step.
• Your product has international demand and you can compete on fulfilment.
• You are willing to invest in advertising and daily steering.

Do both if...

• Your product data is in order: one source, content adapted per platform.
• You have fulfilment arranged per channel without fragmenting your stock.
• You know what you earn per order, on both platforms separately.

Starting both from zero at the same time I would advise against. Each platform has its own learning curve, and half attention on two channels loses to full attention on one.

Your first step

Whatever you choose: validate demand before you buy stock. At a Dutch automotive parts retailer we did not buy the proposed SKU selection for an Amazon launch on catalogue coverage, but crossed it against proven marketplace demand. The outcome: a minority of the catalogue turned out to have proven demand, and that is exactly where every stock euro went. Catalogue coverage does not predict sales; proven demand does.

Concretely, for the next thirty days:

1. Choose your channel with the framework above.

2. Select 20 to 50 products and validate demand per product.

3. Calculate the contribution margin per order, including fees, fulfilment and expected returns, with the current fee tables at hand.

4. Go live with that defined assortment, measure for six to eight weeks, and scale what works.

Amazon or bol.com is not a matter of faith. It is a calculation plus an honest look at your own operation. Keep that sum small, make it per order, and start on one channel. The rest follows from the data.