What's the biggest difference between selling on your own webshop or via bol.com?
Selling online is attractive, and we don't need to explain that in this blog. But once you've decided to sell online, how do you decide whether to do it via a platform like bol.com or with your own webshop?
The reach of bol.com vs. your own webshop
The biggest difference between selling online on bol.com vs. your own webshop is that you're offering a product on a platform with millions of visitors and customers. This way, you can piggyback on bol.com's brand recognition without investing time and money in ads and strategies to make your webshop known to your target audience. Plus, bol.com can handle distribution and customer service for you.
Short term vs. long term: your own webshop or selling via bol?
While bol.com has its advantages, having your own webshop allows you to build a strong brand and establish a connection with your customers. With bol.com, you can't build your own customer database, making it harder to bind customers to your brand.
Do you have a financial buffer and enough knowledge to build your webshop from scratch? Then you can use ads, social media, marketing, and sales techniques to make your webshop known and loved by your target audience. In the long run, that's a good choice. Many online entrepreneurs start their business on bol.com and then also sell via their own webshop. The profit and knowledge they gain from bol.com can be invested in their own webshop.
How much does it cost to sell on bol.com?
In exchange for bol.com's brand recognition, you pay a commission per product sold through the platform. This commission varies per product category and ranges from 4% to 25%. On the other hand, your time investment is relatively low since you don't spend time finding customers. Time (or money, if you outsource it) goes into product research (which product will you sell? Are you selling your own brand product?) and creating a strong listing (product description, title, and photos).
Bol.com as a springboard
Selling online without a webshop via bol.com means you make less profit due to the fees you pay to bol.com in exchange for their recognition. On the other hand, you save on advertising and webshop costs. This makes bol.com a promising way for new online entrepreneurs to succeed. If you're more experienced, you'll eventually make more profit selling via your own webshop instead of bol.com.
Many experienced entrepreneurs choose to combine selling on bol.com and via their own webshop: the ultimate win-win for maximum reach while building your brand's recognition.
Selling online on bol.com without your own webshop, why would you do that?
Why would you choose to build your business entirely on bol.com without running your own webshop? Simply because online entrepreneurship is a learning process, and bol.com is the fastest way to generate revenue and profit while learning. But there are more reasons.
Full focus on growth
Thanks to the comprehensive service for bol.com sellers, many time-consuming factors are taken care of. With this solid foundation, you as an (aspiring) online entrepreneur can focus entirely on your development and that of your business. If you also opt for valuable bol.com courses and an inspiring community, you'll be able to get the most out of bol.com's possibilities and grow to your full potential.
Distribution & customer service
Of course, you can start selling on bol.com by shipping your products from home. However, this can be a time-consuming task. Fortunately, there's LVB (logistics via bol), where bol.com ships your products from their distribution center. Thanks to the excellent customer service they also provide to your customers, that's one less thing for you to worry about. A great reason to start selling on bol.com without your own webshop.
So, selling online without a webshop with bol.com. Is that a good idea?
Following the motto start before you're ready, it's a good idea to start selling on bol.com without your own webshop. Why? It's low-threshold, and you can always set up your own webshop later. Plus, it'll be even easier when you've built up some starting capital thanks to bol.com and gained important knowledge about online entrepreneurship through good courses.
Looking at the long term, many successful online entrepreneurs choose to sell not only through bol.com but also through their own webshop. So, there's plenty of perspective for growth!
