Three columns, not one
Keep original status, original reason and internal action separate. This lets the team change its action rule later without pretending the merchant returned a different observation. Record the vendor and review date because similar-looking labels may have different meanings.
Avoid a universal green list
Do not map every non-invalid response to “send.” Some categories explicitly retain uncertainty; some reflect role or domain attributes rather than a simple mailbox verdict. Read the current documentation for the actual output you received.
A mapping review
For each observed category, write its documented meaning, your permitted next step and the owner of exceptions. Test a previously unseen label: it should stop for review rather than fall through to approval. This makes vendor changes visible instead of silently changing the behaviour of your system.
Put it into practice
Create a mapping register with columns for vendor, original status, original reason, documented meaning, internal action and last review date. Keep raw outputs unchanged in their controlled source file. If a second vendor uses “valid” where the first uses “deliverable,” do not equate the two solely because the words sound positive. Read the documented scope and identify any relevant uncertainty. Use a fictional new label, NEW_STATE, to test your default branch. The desired behaviour is a visible review exception, not an automatic favourable classification. A small team can maintain this as a reviewed table; it need not become a complex software system. The important property is that changes are intentional and traceable. When the vendor updates definitions, assess the affected mapping rather than rewriting historical observations as though the new definition had always applied. Record the mapping version beside each processed batch so a later reviewer can distinguish changed terminology from changed evidence.
Sources used for this page
These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.
- Bouncer result FAQ — Merchant documentation · usebouncer.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-27
- ZeroBounce API documentation — Merchant documentation · zerobounce.net · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-27