ALL bounces needed vs. just the emailed

[srelan]

I've been using MBM with BounceHandler for a number of years, so I'm quite happy and comfortable with it.
However, bounces.... I've experimented sending my MBM email blasts through SendGrid.com (with small known test lists) and grabbed the bounces from their panel, and compared to mailing same list from our in-house server using the "Errors" email address setting that Bounce Handler scrapes (our server is on fixed IP, uses DKIM, SPF, fully qualified domain name, etc etc so it's solid, no blacklists) and seems like when in-house we missing a HUGE number of real bounces from blasts that I caught using SendGrid.

With my layman knowledge, I'm guessing SendGrid is capturing errors sent back by recipient server during the server handshake process which I don't see how we can capture using the MaxProg tools. Right now using inhouse Postfix SMTP server, MaxBulkMailer has no process for seeing those real time error codes (If that is indeed what SendGrid is doing) and ONLY able to assume the recipient server will honor the "Errors" header address. Which I see now most just ignore it.

Furthermore, if I use the MBM preferences and add Header names for "Return-Path" than I have to change it for each job I do for separate clients/domains that I'm sending from.
(if SendGrid is getting their bounces from only the "ReturnPath" header, that would make sense).

But if that is the case, I would need to modify the MBM preferences EACH bulk delivery, because those other Header fields don't exist in the specific MBM FILE settings/Sender Info, just the App settings.

Ok, long winded, but anybody follow my dilemma??
I want to use my inhouse good SMTP server with good SenderScore, etc and stop using SendGrid, but can't until find a way to get MaxProg product suite to properly capture ALL the bounces, either by handshake, or auto error emails.

Any thoughts?

 

[stanbusk]

Bounces are external to MaxBulk Mailer, they are produced on the recipient server and sent to the recipient address. They are emails. As you say, a server is free to send the bounce to the sender address or to the return-path address. This is something hard to control.

 

[srelan]

Thanks for replying. But what i've found out from speaking with SendGrid is that bounces are not all emails. That at least half of the recipient servers in my list provide an undeliverable/bounce code during the handshake process, and NOT an email bounced back. That is why we are missing so many when going through our own server/MBM combo. Whereas Sendgrid's/Amazon/etc services are properly capturing all undeliverable codes and bounced addresses in their services..

That is what I would hope MBM could do, capture those errors during the handshake at each recipient send like those larger pay services do.
That's all I was asking about..

 

[stanbusk]

They are not bounces then, they are delivery errors. Don't you see those errors in the MaxBulk Mailer recipient list?

 

[srelan]

no, not a one.
So maybe I am mistaken as to how it really works.
All I know is that when I sent an exact same list, once through our local SMTP (with qualified domain name, DKIM, SPF, fixed IP etc) I don't see even half the bounces come back to my "errors" address. Compared to the fuller list of bounces, with reason codes, that I get shown on SendGrid's panel. And I need to figure out why I'm not seeing or getting them back so I can stop using SendGrid.

 

[stanbusk]

A delivery error can happens two ways, during the delivery and after the delivery. During the delivery thru a 5xx error and after the delivery thru a bounce. There is no other way. The 5xx delivery errors are displayed in the MaxBulk Mailer connection log in plain text. Bounces are sent by email by the recipient mail server either to the sender address or the return-path address.

 

[srelan]

Got it. So does that mean I should have been getting "eMail Bounce Handler" to scrape the connection logs when finished sending to capture all of those 5xx errors? That seems to be what I was referring to that SendGrid tabulates for us in their panel after a blast....

 

[stanbusk]

Actually not. When a 5xx error is received MaxBulk Mailer marks the recipient in the recipient list with an error icon. You can then do whatever you want with those errors, resend, save, delete...etc...