Troubleshooting Hard Bounces from Clay Email Export

Cori H. · 2025-06-20 11:21:35.047254+00

I exported email addresses from clay but some are hard bouncing even though the emails are validated. why is this happening? what further parameters can I use to make sure this doesn't happen again?

Troubleshooting Hard Bounces from Clay Email Export | Clay

15 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Cori H.
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https://app.clay.com/workspaces/608301/workbooks/wb_0swktbk98FhpWoeJkKa/tables/t_0swktr3h5zr9DCBS28q/views/gv_0swktr9FjRyuMtEsrh4
Channeled
APP
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Hard bounces can occur even with validated emails because by default, catch-all emails are marked as valid. These emails often exist but may not belong to the specific individual or could be aliases. To prevent this, enable the "only mark safe to send" option in your email waterfall settings. This excludes catch-all emails from your valid email list, providing more conservative validation. You can also use the ZeroBounce integration with the "Only 'Safe To Send' Emails?" toggle enabled, which returns only emails classified as truly valid rather than catch-all addresses.
Sources: Enrich People (Waterfalls) [CRM Enrichment] - Clay University Email verification statuses | Documentation | Clay University Validate Email with Zero Bounce
Cori H.
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can anyone help here?
Bruno R.
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Hey there, thanks for your message - taking a closer look at this now!
Bruno R.
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It looks like you did not validate catch-all emails from the configuration you shared. I just recorded this quick video to explain: https://www.loom.com/share/926351040fc44d808ae1623d69b40675?sid=f5d81f6c-cf20-4853-b5cb-098a69b55f52
Cori H.
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got it thank you Bruno R.. so now I am testing this, but am now running into the emails aren't getting validated at all. if you take a look at Eddie Kolitz and DANIEL MANZANILLA in the same table the waterfall isn't functioning correctly. can you help me work through this?
Bruno R.
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The emails are not being validated because they are not being found by the providers, in this case:
(304 kB)
Cori H.
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email is being found for Eddie though?
Loading attachments
Bruno R.
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Good news! Happy to report that we heard back from the team and this issue should be fixed. Try a quick refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) and let us know if the problem has been resolved on your end, or if you still have trouble. Thank you for your patience as we worked on it.
Cori H.
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it's not working for me, refreshed twice and logged out and back in
Bruno R.
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Pardon me Cori, I meant to report that the bug has been picked up by our engineering team, not resolved. We'll follow up here as soon as we know more!
Cori H.
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ahhh I see, thank you!
Cori H.
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do you know when this will be solved? need to report a timeline back to my boss
Bruno R.
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We'll be in touch as soon as we have news!
Bruno R.
·
·
Good news! Happy to report that we heard back from the team and this issue should be fixed. Try a quick refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) and let us know if the problem has been resolved on your end, or if you still have trouble. Thank you for your patience as we worked on it.

Cori H.
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·
https://app.clay.com/workspaces/608301/workbooks/wb_0swktbk98FhpWoeJkKa/tables/t_0swktr3h5zr9DCBS28q/views/gv_0swktr9FjRyuMtEsrh4
Channeled
APP
·
·
Hard bounces can occur even with validated emails because by default, catch-all emails are marked as valid. These emails often exist but may not belong to the specific individual or could be aliases. To prevent this, enable the "only mark safe to send" option in your email waterfall settings. This excludes catch-all emails from your valid email list, providing more conservative validation. You can also use the ZeroBounce integration with the "Only 'Safe To Send' Emails?" toggle enabled, which returns only emails classified as truly valid rather than catch-all addresses.
Sources: Enrich People (Waterfalls) [CRM Enrichment] - Clay University Email verification statuses | Documentation | Clay University Validate Email with Zero Bounce
Cori H.
·
·
can anyone help here?
Bruno R.
·
·
Hey there, thanks for your message - taking a closer look at this now!
Bruno R.
·
·
It looks like you did not validate catch-all emails from the configuration you shared. I just recorded this quick video to explain: https://www.loom.com/share/926351040fc44d808ae1623d69b40675?sid=f5d81f6c-cf20-4853-b5cb-098a69b55f52
Cori H.
·
·
got it thank you Bruno R.. so now I am testing this, but am now running into the emails aren't getting validated at all. if you take a look at Eddie Kolitz and DANIEL MANZANILLA in the same table the waterfall isn't functioning correctly. can you help me work through this?
Bruno R.
·
·
The emails are not being validated because they are not being found by the providers, in this case:
(304 kB)
Cori H.
·
·
email is being found for Eddie though?
Loading attachments
Bruno R.
·
·
Good news! Happy to report that we heard back from the team and this issue should be fixed. Try a quick refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) and let us know if the problem has been resolved on your end, or if you still have trouble. Thank you for your patience as we worked on it.
Cori H.
·
·
it's not working for me, refreshed twice and logged out and back in
Bruno R.
·
·
Pardon me Cori, I meant to report that the bug has been picked up by our engineering team, not resolved. We'll follow up here as soon as we know more!
Cori H.
·
·
ahhh I see, thank you!
Cori H.
·
·
do you know when this will be solved? need to report a timeline back to my boss
Bruno R.
·
·
We'll be in touch as soon as we have news!
Bruno R.
·
·
Good news! Happy to report that we heard back from the team and this issue should be fixed. Try a quick refresh (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + R) and let us know if the problem has been resolved on your end, or if you still have trouble. Thank you for your patience as we worked on it.