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Before you start
These rules are bol's own. They come from the public bol partner platform pages and the release notes of the bol API, and bol decides whether your content passes.
e-tailize checks whether the fields bol asks for are filled. What is written in them is judged by bol, after you push your content with "List content", so a product that passes validation can still come back refused.
Work on the bol tab of the product. That holds the text that goes to bol, next to "Main title" and "Main description" on the "Main product" tab, which stay your own source text.
Steps
- Keep the title inside 70 characters, spaces counted. bol is stricter here than most marketplaces, so a title that passes elsewhere can still be too long.
- Build that title the way bol asks: brand, model, product type, then one or two attributes that set the article apart.
- Take out of the title what bol refuses: capitals for emphasis, promotional wording, symbols, English wording on the Dutch platform and repeated synonyms.
- Take out of the description what bol refuses: links to a website, prices, delivery times, holiday wording, scarcity wording and vague sustainability claims.
- Format the description with the tags bol accepts and no others: b, br, h3, li, ol, ul, p and strong.
- Check every image: 30 KB to 10 MB per file, 500 by 500 pixels up to 6000 by 6000, at least 1200 by 1200 for zoom, a white background, and no logos, watermarks, text, labels or models.
- Fill in the economic operator data on the bol tab. bol has made it mandatory since 1 February 2025 and an offer without it goes offline.
- Validate the product, run "List content" and read what bol sends back.
What happens next
bol answers per product, not per batch: one article goes live while the next one is refused, from the same push. That answer is kept for 28 days, so read the report while it is there: after that it is gone and the reason cannot be read back.
A product that is live but not for sale is usually missing content rather than blocked by a rule. bol names the attributes it misses at that moment, so read that list again instead of an older one.
Common problems
bol reports an error during publishing
The message is "Bol.com reported an error during publishing;" and behind the semicolon stands bol's own reason. Read that part.
A reason that starts with "[Duplicate Offer]" and names an existing retailer offer id and the EAN means bol already has an offer with this EAN and condition NEW. The platform tries to adopt that offer by itself, and if you see this reason, that attempt did not go through. Do not delete the product: check the listing again shortly, and ask our support team with the offer id and the EAN if it keeps coming back.
Any other reason: fix what bol names there and list again.
bol reports an unknown status
The message reads "An unknown error occurred. Bol.com reported processStatus ..." Ask our support team, with the EAN and the status text from the message.
bol reports a timeout
The message reads "Bol.com reported that the product publish operation timed out, the operation did not complete. Please try again at a later time." Nothing is wrong with your content: list the product again later.
An attribute shows BLOCKED_BY_RATE_LIMITER
Does an attribute in the listing errors show the technical error BLOCKED_BY_RATE_LIMITER, then that is throttling and not a data problem: wait and list again later.
Only the main image is visible
bol took the product but received one image only, or refused the rest. It reports a reason per image, each with its own fix. A link that gave a not found or asked for a login: rehost that image at a public https URL that opens the file itself. A file type bol does not support: convert it to one bol does support, because rehosting changes nothing. An image bol flagged as blacklisted: bol refused that picture, so supply a different one. A picture bol chose from another party for the shared product page: not a data problem on your side.
A field these rules mention is not on your bol tab
bol changed its category definition after your tab was built. Click "Refresh category" on that category's card, wait for the sync and fill in the new fields.
FAQ
Do spaces count towards the 70 characters?
Yes. bol counts everything in the title, spaces and punctuation included. Keep the whole line inside the limit rather than trusting bol to cut it neatly.
May I write my bol title in English?
Write it in the language of the country you sell in. English wording is on bol's forbidden list for a title on the Dutch platform.
What is the economic operator?
The party inside the EU that is answerable for the product. bol has required it since 1 February 2025, under the European product safety rules, and an offer without valid data for it goes offline.
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