Why are companies that guarantee email inbox placement problematic?

Email marketer from Reddit shares that guarantees often rely on fake engagement, such as bots or paid users clicking links, which email providers can detect and penalize. This artificial engagement provides no real value and can negatively impact sender reputation.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that inboxally and warmy and whatever else SOUND like they're doing EXACTLY what every proper deliverability expert is saying: they're providing "engaged" audience, and that creates an annoyingly large set of irritations.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that focusing on sustainable, ethical practices is always better for long-term email marketing success rather than relying on quick fixes offered by guarantee companies.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares two big issues with these tools: sometimes they do work so people advertise them and create demand, and these services work on a referral program creating additional demand.

Email marketer from Sender Blog explains that guarantees are problematic because email service providers (ESPs) like Gmail and Yahoo use complex algorithms to determine inbox placement. These algorithms consider factors like sender reputation, engagement metrics, and content quality, which are difficult to manipulate ethically or predict with certainty.

Email marketer from Litmus Blog shares that inbox placement guarantees are often scams because they cannot guarantee positive engagement metrics, which are critical for long-term success. True email marketing focuses on providing value and building relationships with subscribers.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that companies offering such guarantees often compromise on list quality. They might use purchased or scraped lists, leading to a high number of invalid or unengaged email addresses.

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that services guaranteeing inbox placement often use unethical or black-hat practices like purchasing email lists or employing click farms. These methods damage sender reputation and violate anti-spam laws, leading to long-term deliverability issues.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign explains that these companies often use tactics that go against email best practices such as spamming, not honoring opt-outs and using unverified email addresses.

Email marketer from GMass Blog shares that legitimate deliverability efforts focus on gradual warming and consistent engagement. Guarantees typically skip this process, causing more harm than good.

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid Blog explains that legitimate email marketing relies on building trust with subscribers through permission-based sending and valuable content. Guaranteed placement services often bypass these crucial steps, resulting in spam complaints and damaged sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that there are multiple tools that mark all emails as not spam, and that these tools 'create engagement' and are also the same tools folks use for warmups.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that companies guaranteeing inbox placement often employ unethical or unsustainable practices that ultimately harm sender reputation and deliverability in the long run. They often rely on tactics that violate email best practices and can lead to blacklisting.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that deliverability guarantees are often based on a misunderstanding of how email filtering works and can be misleading. They frequently involve practices that are not transparent or sustainable and may not provide long-term value.

Expert from Email Geeks responds to someone saying they know companies pay Google to put their mail in the inbox, by saying they should go pay one of those companies then, and questions why they are trying to hire her if they are already paying for that service.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that just because something is legal does not mean Google has to put the mail in the inbox.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that people are being fooled if they don't think MPBs can't identify the emails used by services to mark all mail as not spam.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that companies selling email deliverability are really good at pushing the buttons and telling you that hiring them will solve all your problems, and in some ways it feels like they have stolen the deliverability market with slick websites and AI generated text.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that sometimes it's tools, sometimes its very cheap overseas staff/people doing the clicking/report as not spam, but the basics are they fake engagement to boost reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that Google had revoked API keys and thrown off services that were doing this, and that Microsoft had sued someone for doing this, and provides a link to the court case.

Documentation from Microsoft SNDS explains that guarantees are problematic because they often lead to a poor IP reputation. Services promising placement can damage your sending IP's reputation, causing deliverability issues with Outlook and Hotmail.

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that a positive sender reputation is crucial for inbox placement. Companies guaranteeing placement often damage this reputation by using tactics that lead to blacklisting, harming long-term deliverability.

Documentation from RFC explains that companies claiming guaranteed inbox placement often neglect proper bounce handling and list hygiene. This leads to high bounce rates, further damaging sender reputation and reducing deliverability.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that guarantees are problematic because they often ignore the importance of maintaining a low spam complaint rate. Services promising placement can inflate spam complaints, leading to filtering issues with Gmail.