Is Klaviyo sending issues fixed and safe to resend emails?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 22 Apr 2025
Updated 15 Aug 2025
6 min read
Dealing with email sending issues can be a significant headache, especially when you rely on platforms like Klaviyo for critical communications. When an email service provider reports an issue is fixed on their status page, the immediate question is always: Is it truly safe to resend, or are there lingering risks that could damage my sender reputation?
The impulse to resend quickly to recover lost engagement or sales is understandable. However, rash decisions can lead to further deliverability problems, potentially landing your emails in spam folders or on a blacklist (or blocklist). It's a delicate balance between urgency and caution.
In this article, I’ll walk you through the considerations for resending emails after Klaviyo, or any other email service provider, reports a fix. We will explore how to assess the situation, what steps to take to protect your sender reputation, and how to monitor your deliverability to ensure your messages reach the inbox.
Understanding recent Klaviyo sending issues
When a major email service provider like Klaviyo experiences an incident, the impact can be significant. Issues can range from elevated hard bounce rates to delayed sending or even temporary blocklists. What I've observed is that while a status page might declare an issue resolved, the effects on email deliverability can linger, and sometimes, the problem might even resurface.
For instance, an issue leading to elevated hard bounce rates, as seen in a past Klaviyo incident, often has intermittent characteristics. Some emails might go through, while others bounce, making it tricky to determine true stability. My experience tells me it takes more than just a quick fix announcement to consider the coast clear.
It’s wise to approach 'fixed' statuses with a degree of healthy skepticism. Many in the industry suggest waiting a significant period, like 48 to 72 hours, after a fix is announced before assuming full recovery. This allows enough time to see if the symptoms truly disappear or if new issues emerge. Relying solely on the status page without independent verification can lead to further deliverability challenges down the line.
The true cost of deliverability issues
When emails fail to reach the inbox, it's not just about missed opportunities. It directly impacts your sender reputation, potentially leading to future messages being flagged as spam by inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook. Maintaining a pristine sender reputation is crucial for long-term email marketing success.
The risks of resending emails
The primary risk of resending emails after an issue, especially one involving hard bounces, is further degradation of your sender reputation. When you send to email addresses that have previously bounced, it signals to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that your list hygiene is poor. This can lead to increased spam complaints and a higher chance of your domain or IP address being added to an email blacklist (or blocklist).
Resending to unengaged recipients, or worse, to spam traps, is another critical pitfall. Spam traps are dormant email addresses used by ISPs to identify senders with questionable list acquisition or maintenance practices. Hitting a spam trap can severely damage your sender reputation and hinder future deliverability, potentially leading to your emails consistently landing in the junk folder.
Consider the type of issue that occurred. If it was a widespread technical glitch on the ESP's side, and they confirm the fix, the risk might be lower. However, if the issue was related to deliverability, such as high spam rates or blocklisting (blacklisting) due to your content or list, then resending without addressing those underlying problems is a gamble you likely can't afford. Understanding how email blacklists work is key.
Risks of immediate resend
Reputation damage: Increases hard bounces, spam complaints, and can lead to being added to a blocklist.
Spam trap hits: Resending to an uncleaned list boosts the chance of hitting spam traps.
Deliverability setback: ISPs may view your sending as reckless, further degrading inbox placement.
Benefits of a cautious approach
Preserved reputation: Allows time for the issue to truly stabilize and avoid further damage.
Targeted resend: Enables you to segment and only resend to the most engaged or likely recipients.
Improved trust: Shows ISPs you prioritize deliverability and responsible sending practices.
Best practices before resending
Before you even consider hitting resend, there are several crucial steps you should take to mitigate risk and boost your chances of inbox placement. These practices are fundamental to improving email deliverability in general, not just after an incident.
First, always ensure your email domain is properly authenticated. This involves correctly setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. These protocols verify that your emails are legitimately coming from your domain, which is a major factor in how ISPs assess your trustworthiness. If your DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records aren't configured correctly, even a perfectly crafted email can end up in spam.
Second, it's critical to clean your email list, especially after an incident involving hard bounces. Remove any addresses that bounced during the incident and segment your list to target only the most engaged subscribers. For those slightly less engaged, consider a re-engagement strategy rather than a blanket resend. Remember, sending to an unengaged audience can negatively impact deliverability, causing email filtering, as noted by experts on Reddit.
After any sending issue, and especially after resending, constant vigilance is key. It's not enough to just send and hope for the best. You need to actively monitor your email deliverability to catch any new problems quickly. This includes keeping a close eye on your bounce rates, open rates, click-through rates, and most importantly, your spam complaint rates.
Utilize available tools, like Klaviyo's deliverability hub or email deliverability testers, to gain insights into your sending performance. Look for any spikes in bounce rates or dips in engagement. These could be early warning signs of ongoing or new issues that need immediate attention.
Metric
Why it matters
Signs of trouble
Bounce rate
Indicates invalid or non-existent email addresses.
Sustained increase, especially hard bounces.
Spam complaint rate
Direct feedback from recipients marking your email as spam.
Any rate above 0.1%, or sudden spikes.
Open rate
Reflects recipient engagement and inbox placement success.
Significant drops in previously healthy segments.
Click-through rate
Indicates how relevant your content is to your audience.
Lower than usual engagement, despite good open rates.
What to do next
In the immediate aftermath of a Klaviyo sending issue, or any ESP outage, patience and strategic action are your best allies. While the desire to resend quickly is strong, prioritizing the long-term health of your sender reputation will yield far better results. A hasty resend can undo weeks or months of good sending practices.
By waiting for a stable period, cleaning your lists, ensuring proper authentication, and continuously monitoring your metrics, you not only protect your email program but also build a more resilient sending infrastructure. This proactive approach ensures your emails consistently reach the inbox, even when unforeseen issues arise.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Wait 48-72 hours post-fix to confirm stability before any large resends.
Verify your email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is correctly configured and aligned.
Clean your email list, removing all hard bounces and unengaged subscribers from the affected segments.
Segment your audience and consider sending a re-engagement campaign to less active subscribers first.
Monitor your deliverability metrics closely after resending, paying attention to bounces and spam complaints.
Common pitfalls
Blindly trusting the 'fixed' status on an ESP's status page and resending immediately.
Resending to segments that experienced high hard bounce rates during the incident.
Not cleaning your email list before resending, leading to more spam trap hits and reputation damage.
Ignoring subtle signs of ongoing deliverability issues after an announced fix.
Sending a large volume of emails too quickly after a major incident, overwhelming ISPs.
Expert tips
If the issue was intermittent, consider a phased resend, starting with your most engaged subscribers.
Review your email content for any elements that might trigger spam filters.
Ensure your sending domain has a strong reputation, as this heavily influences inbox placement.
For critical emails, consider alternative communication channels if deliverability remains uncertain.
Engage with your ESP's support for specific guidance on your account's status.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says they don't think people are waiting to send. They also state that the issue is intermittent, and some emails are getting through. They consider it fixed only after 48-72 hours.
2020-12-16 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says their ESP support team confirmed it was safe to resend important emails, so they proceeded with that.
Gmail and 
Outlook. Maintaining a pristine sender reputation is crucial for long-term email marketing success.
