Checking that each mailbox exists
The paid address check asks each address's mail server whether the mailbox is real, so dead addresses are skipped before they bounce.
The list cleaner catches typos, throwaway addresses and domains that can't take mail. It can't tell whether ana@company.com still works there. The address check can: it asks the company's mail server whether the mailbox exists, without sending anything.
Using it
- 1
Open a list
Under Check that each mailbox exists, press Check N addresses. Only unchecked addresses, or ones last checked over 90 days ago, are checked.
- 2
Wait a little
About 40 addresses are checked a minute, in the background. You can leave the page.
- 3
Send
Addresses with no mailbox are skipped automatically, with a note, so they can't bounce.
| Result | Meaning | What Vecta does |
|---|---|---|
| Mailbox exists | The server confirmed it. | Sends. |
| Mailbox doesn't exist | Nobody there, or a trap address. | Skips it. |
| Can't tell (accepts everything) | The server says yes to any address ("catch-all"). | Sends; the bounce brake watches. |
| No answer | The server didn't reply in time. | Sends; the bounce brake watches. |
Example
An old 400-person list: the check finds 31 dead mailboxes. Your campaign goes to the other 369, and the 31 never bounce.
If you can't use it
- "Not switched on for this Vecta yet": the check uses a paid service (about one credit per address), and Marketive turns it on for the whole app. Until then, clean the list and rely on the bounce brake.
- Some addresses stay "being checked": the service didn't answer; they are tried again on the next minute. If the service itself fails three times in a row (for example it is out of credits), checking stops for that minute.
Privacy
Only the email address is sent to the checking service, to its EU servers. Nothing is sent to the person.
Did this help?
Related articles
Cleaning a list before you send
How the list check finds typos, throwaway addresses and domains that can't receive mail, and what it can't tell you.
The bounce brake: when Vecta pauses a campaign for you
Why a campaign pauses itself when too many emails bounce, what happens to the emails waiting, and how to resume safely.
Understanding Bounce Handling
What a bounce really is, how Vecta tells a dead address apart from your own broken settings, and why that matters enormously.