How do email bounces affect email reputation?

High bounce rates have a significant impact on a sender's reputation because they indicate a problem with the email list's quality or the sender's practices. When emails bounce, it means they cannot be delivered to the intended recipients, often because the email address is invalid or no longer in use. This behavior can signal to email service providers and spam filters that the sender is not maintaining their email list properly, which can lead to suspicions about the sender's legitimacy.

As a result, a sender with consistently high bounce rates may face consequences such as being placed on blacklists or having their emails filtered out or blocked. Maintaining a healthy email list and ensuring that messages are sent to active addresses is crucial for protecting and enhancing email reputation. By preventing high bounce rates, senders can improve their deliverability and trustworthiness in the eyes of email providers. Thus, option A accurately reflects the negative consequences that high bounce rates can have on a sender’s email reputation.