How do I handle email bounces and complaints?
Set up SNS notifications in SES configuration sets. Create a webhook that receives SNS notifications. For bounces, parse the notification and mark the user as emailBounced in your database. For complaints, mark as emailComplained. Never send to bounced or complained addresses to protect your sender reputation.
Verify This Answer
Cross-check this information using these trusted sources:
More FAQs in Amazon SES Summary and Best Practices Complete Guide for Node.js Email
Verify domain (add DKIM CNAME records), add SPF and DMARC TXT records, get SMTP or AWS SDK credentials, request production access (exit sandbox), install Nodemailer or AWS SDK, create email transport, build templates, send with error handling, set up SNS bounce/complaint notifications, and monitor deliverability.
Use consistent from address, include HTML and plain text, use templates, send asynchronously via queue, check canSendEmail before sending, retry on throttling with backoff, handle bounces via SNS, warm up domain gradually, keep bounce rate < 5% and complaint rate < 0.1%, and test with mail-tester.com.
$0.10 per 1,000 emails. Free tier includes 62,000 emails/month when sent from EC2. For a small app like DevTinder with 1,000 users sending 5 emails each per month (5,000 total), the cost is $0 (within free tier).
Still have questions?
Browse all our FAQs or reach out to our support team