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Setting up a Bol API

Do you want to learn interactively all basics related to the creation of an API export, or how to make an advanced setup for an API in Channable? Learn how to create a Channacademy account in the Channable app through this Help Center article and start with the Basic APIs or Expert APIs course.

This article guides you through the process of creating a connection between Channable and Bol, setting up an API, and sending product listings. 

This article assumes you have already listed products on Bol. If you are creating listings for the first time, refer to this article on how to add new products on Bol.

Table of contents

  1. Preparation
  2. Create a connection with Bol
  3. Create the API
  4. Create your product listings
  5. Remove old product listings from your Bol seller account
  6. Send your product listings to Bol
  7. Check your product listings for errors

Preparation

Before you begin, ensure you have met the following conditions:

  1. EAN codes: Valid EAN codes are mandatory for Bol. Ensure all your products have valid EAN codes, as you won't be able to list products without them.

  2. Log out of Bol account: Make sure you log out of your Bol account before creating a connection in Channable. Staying logged in can cause automatic login issues during the connection process.

  3. Bol connection Expiry: Your Bol connection expires after a while, leading to an "API failure". If this happens, refresh your connection by following the steps outlined in this article.

  4. Bol BE or Bol NL: The steps for setting up an API are the same for both, but ensure you select the correct account and country when setting up a Bol API.

Step 1: Create a connection with Bol

To create a new Bol connection, follow the steps below:

  1. Begin by navigating to the API page within your project and click on the "+Add new API" button. This action will redirect you to your company's connections page.
  2. On the connections page, select "+Add a new connection".
  3. Search for the 'Bol' connection by clicking through the pages, after finding the 'Bol' connection, provide a label for this new connection.
  4. Click on "Connect with Bol." You will be redirected to Bol for the next step. Once redirected, log in using your Bol credentials.

After successfully logging in, the connection with Bol is established and available for use! You will be brought back to the API setup.

Step 2: Create the API

Once back, you have to select your new connection with Bol and continue setting up your API.

  1. Configure API settings:
    • Name your API
    • Select the content language of the API
    • Choose the unique ID per item. (we recommend the 'id' field)
  2. Create API: Click on "Continue" to create the new Bol API.

You can also decide to only send the content data to Bol. For more information on this feature, read this article.

Step 3: Create your product listings

Setting up your product listings involves 3 main steps. Below is a streamlined overview to help you navigate through each stage effectively.

1. Categories

Because Bol already knows your EAN codes, you can skip this step. However, if you are pushing new products or Bol doesn't recognize your products, you will encounter an error. Refer to this article to resolve it.

2. Build

In the Build step, you will configure the essential information for your products. This step includes filling out the attributes, adding shipping codes, and utilizing additional tabs for further improvement.

  • Shared attributes: Map your imported fields to the template by clicking on the field headers. For example, map your product title to the "Title" field.
  • Delivery code: Fill in the delivery codes for your products. For more information, refer to this article.

In addition to the default template, the Build step includes three other tabs:

  • Volume discount: Set discounts for consumers purchasing multiple quantities. Learn more about setting up volume discounts here.
  • Price reduction: Bol offers lower commissions for products meeting specific maximum prices. Read how to activate this feature here.
  • Images: Link the images or media assets you want to send to Bol. You can also select labeled assets under 'Labelled assets'. Detailed instructions are available in this article.

Once you have filled in all the necessary information, click "Save" at the bottom of the screen.

3. Attributes

We recommend sending your product listings to Bol without filling in the attributes initially. If Bol already recognizes your products' EAN codes, this step is not required. Note that the attributes will be automatically unavailable if the categorization step is skipped.

Step 4: Remove old product listings from your Bol seller account

It is crucial to remove any old listings from your Bol seller account before sending your products via the Bol API in Channable. Follow these steps to delete old listings, to prevent synchronization errors.

  1. Navigate to your listings:

    • Go to "Artikelen" > "Mijn artikelen" in your Bol seller account.

  2. Select and delete products:

    • Select all products that are going to be listed by channable, with the "Alle" button.
    • Click on "Bewerk aanbod" scroll down and click on "Verwijderen" to remove the selected products.

Important notes:

  • Retention of product information: Even after deletion, the product information from your old listings will remain in the Bol database. Therefore, you can skip the "Categories" step and "Attributes per category" tab in the Build step during the API setup.
  • Complete the "Build" step: Ensure you fill out the "Shared attributes" tab in the "Build" step, as it contains essential information for your offer.
  • Reviews preservation: Your Bol reviews will not be deleted and will reappear once your products are listed again through Channable.

Step 5: Send your product listings to Bol

Almost there, your product listings are ready to be sent. If you have not activated your project, go to your project settings on the left-hand side of the screen and click "Activate project". 

After, go back to the APIs overview and go to [Your Bol API] > Settings, where you activate the API by clicking "Activate API".

Once you have activated the API, navigate back to the API overview and click on the blue "Run now" button to send your product listings to Bol.

Step 6: Check your product listings for errors

To check for errors, navigate to the Result page of the API > Errors tab, where you see which product listings have errors. By clicking on the specific, it will display more information on what is causing the error. For more information about what the errors mean, read this article.