Re: Problems trying to send site email through gmail server....

Ok here's the deal... had site hosted on mydomain servers but they have lots of spammers so business emails were being labeled as spam by aol, cs, comcast, time warner, and several other isps. Got ticked and moved the site to a local company late last year thinking they had their own servers. Now I'm still getting blocked by the same isps labeled as spam because my new company leases server space from a big company in Utah and their servers are flagging as spam by the same isps. When I put the ip of the Utah into comcast or others it says spammer.

My hosting guy said to fix it I need to send email through our gmail acct which shouldn't be labeled as spam. He had me set the site settings to the following...

SMTP Email Account Mailbox ***@gmail dot com
SMTP Email Account Password ******
SMTP Email Mail Host smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Email Mail Server Port 465

(note I blocked email addresses out so we don't get spammed)

In gmail I have send mail as: set as a default to ***@gmail dot com. Under that email address I also have our ***@osdparts.com email address (the one all business email comes and goes to in outlook and from the site) added and have it set as send as alias under info. No mail.osdparts.com setting is specified so google shouldn't be going through there. I've also tried totally deleting ***@osdparts.com from google and it still flags as spam.

Since the gmail email address is set to default it should send through gmail right? I think somehow it's going to google then from google going through mail.osdparts.com even though that's not set or listed in google. That or the isps are seeing osdparts.com and labelling my site as spam. Or google is seeing osdparts.com in our email address and directing the mail through mail.osdparts.com instead of through their mail server. The info on the latest email that was blocked is below and it was sent automatically from the site trough gmail to our customer who is on AOL. The spam IP address is in bold and rhostbh is our host which I wouldn't think should be showing at all if sending through gmail.

Return-path: <>
Envelope-to: ***@osdparts.com
Delivery-date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:50:34 -0700
Received: from [69.89.16.161] (port=54856 helo=proxy1.rhostbh.com)
by rsj14.rhostjh.com with smtp (Exim 4.80)
id 1UBAR0-0004Dy-NG
for ***@osdparts.com; Thu, 28 Feb 2013 13:50:34 -0700
Received: (qmail 12267 invoked for bounce); 28 Feb 2013 20:50:34 -0000
Date: 28 Feb 2013 20:50:34 -0000
From: [email protected]
To: ***@osdparts.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed;
boundary="1361477024proxy1.rhostbh.com23625028"
Subject: failure notice
X-Antivirus: AVG for E-mail 2012.0.2221 [2639/5587]
X-AVG-ID: ID353E48F7-94723F0

No matter what somehow I need to figure out how to send emails to customers so they aren't labeled as spam by those isps and need to do this fast since our busy season is kicking in right now. Any help to get our emails to customers is greatly appreciated!

Don't see why email for your domain should be considered spam unless your domain has been blacklisted somewhere. Also sometimes it can happen if you don't have reverse domain lookup or something set on the server? Maybe others can help some more?

osdparts:

No matter what somehow I need to figure out how to send emails to customers so they aren't labeled as spam by those isps and need to do this fast since our busy season is kicking in right now. Any help to get our emails to customers is greatly appreciated!

I've just checked your domain against several of the RBL lists, and not one of them reported it is being a site/host used for spam.

You failed to include the portion of the bounce message that would have indicated **why **the message was rejected.

At this stage there is no convincing evidence that you have a spam related issue at all (other than your repeated use of the phrase), so until this is shown to be the cause of the issue, everything else is pure speculation. For all we know, this particular message could have been bounced because "***@osdparts.com" isn't a valid eMail address.

I'm not denying that your problem could be related to spam filters, but without more information you could be barking up the wrong tree.

Cheers
Rod

osdparts.com doesn't appear to have MX records explicitly allowing google to send mail on your behalf.

http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Understanding_Causes_Of_Lost_Emails
http://mxtoolbox.com
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=33915

RodG:

I've just checked your domain against several of the RBL lists, and not one of them reported it is being a site/host used for spam...

It's not my domain that's being blacklisted. It's the IP (69.89.16.161) that all mail routes through that is. Believe me I get blocked emails from customers every day. My hosting company leases server space from a company and that company has lots of spammers so that IP is blacklisted (or whatever it's called) on comcast, aol and others. The same thing happened when I was at mydomain.com. I've never sent a spam in my life but since there's many people on mydomain who are spammers and since the mail all routes through the same IP, I get labeled as a spammer.

DrByte:

osdparts.com doesn't appear to have MX records explicitly allowing google to send mail on your behalf.

http://www.zen-cart.com/wiki/index.php/Troubleshoot_-_Understanding_Causes_Of_Lost_Emails
http://mxtoolbox.com
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=33915

Not really sure what you're saying. Are you saying I can't send mail from zen cart through google as me?

What I want to do is have zen send automatic confirm emails using my osdparts.com email address but appear to aol and other isps that it's a google (or some other) address so I don't get blocked constantly. Then if a customer email replys to it it comes directly back as ***@osdparts.com Can that be done? If so, directions/steps on how to set up will also be appreciated!

osdparts:

Not really sure what you're saying. Are you saying I can't send mail from zen cart through google as me?

No, he wasn't saying that at all.

osdparts:

What I want to do is have zen send automatic confirm emails using my osdparts.com email address but appear to aol and other isps that it's a google (or some other) address so I don't get blocked constantly. Then if a customer email replys to it it comes directly back as ***@osdparts.com Can that be done? If so, directions/steps on how to set up will also be appreciated!

Yes, can be done, quite easily.

Please see the link provided by DrByte. (This contains the DNS settings you will need to use)
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=33915

The 'secret' (if you can call it that) is in realizing that BY DEFAULT the mail server used by "osdparts.com" will be handled by the same host (IP address) as your web server.

This is NOT the behaviour that you want/need, so you need to configure the DNS entry for your domain so that it uses a different mail server (in this case, Google). The way to do this is via the DNS MX records. (MX = Mail eXchange)

Here's another Google link
http://support.google.com/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=33352 that will explain MX a little better than I've done.

Cheers
Rod

RodG:

Yes, can be done, quite easily...
Cheers
Rod

Thanks did what that link says and deleted my MX then added Google ones. It sent a test fine in outlook but when I replied to the test email I got the bounce error below...

***@OSDparts.com:
173.194.79.26 does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist. Please try
550-5.1.1 double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or
550-5.1.1 unnecessary spaces. Learn more at
550 5.1.1 http://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?answer=6596 qp8si17941073pbc.273 - gsmtp (THATS A DEAD LINK)
Giving up on 173.194.79.26.

I then changed my gmail to make ***@osdparts primary and deselected alias with no change. Still wouldn't reply to the test email.

Then I put back in the MX osdparts.com and it sends but it's now back to going through the bad spam server again.

osdparts:

Thanks did what that link says and deleted my MX then added Google ones. It sent a test fine in outlook but when I replied to the test email I got the bounce error below...

***@OSDparts.com:
173.194.79.26 does not like recipient.
Remote host said: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist.

Pretty self-explanatory I think.

You need to ask yourself why doesn't this email account exist? Has it been set up? Where?

osdparts:

I then changed my gmail to make ***@osdparts primary and deselected alias with no change.

You are forcing me to make assumptions. I don't like that. My assumption being that you meant to state "@osdparts.com" rather than "@osdparts".
How does this differ from the "***@OSDparts.com" in the test message above?

osdparts:

Still wouldn't reply to the test email.

I've no idea what you mean by this. WHAT "wouldn't reply"?

osdparts:

Then I put back in the MX osdparts.com and it sends but it's now back to going through the bad spam server again.

Albert Einstein had the perfect response for this.
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Apologies if I appear to be less than helpful, but you aren't exactly doing a great deal to help yourself either. :(

Cheers
Rod

You're helpful but I did exactly what you said to do and it didn't work. I think the reason it doesn't work is the google page setup info is meant to be used to send a gmail replies through google, not an email address from a domain I own and have set up in my mail control panel through my hosting company (***@osdparts.com) (the *** is so I don't get spammed). With it set like the google page directs, the site will send mail to people through google but when you reply to the email (which should send an email back to ***@osdparts.com) I get the message saying that email address I just received the test email from doesn't exist that I posted above. Meaning it doesn't exist because it's not a gmail mail address.
Note too this morning I tried the MX settings with osdparts.com set to lowest priority 20 so it was there and it still wouldn't let a reply to a test email pass through. The only way an email sent by my site can be replied to is with the osdparts.com in the MX and priority set to 0 so it is first on the list. Once it's like that though it's going through the spamming server my site is on. Thanks again for trying to help but apparently until someone who has done this and actually made it work responds, I'm back where I started.

osdparts:

You're helpful but I did exactly what you said to do and it didn't work.

Correction. It DID work, in that it configured Google to act as a mail server for your domain. That is what you wanted.

The error "173.194.79.26 does not like recipient. Remote host said: 550-5.1.1 The email account that you tried to reach does not exist" is a totally different kettle of fish.

osdparts:

I think the reason it doesn't work is the google page setup info is meant to be used to send a gmail replies through google,

Errrrr, what exactly is a 'gmail reply'?

osdparts:

not an email address from a domain I own

So what is the point/purpose of the MX records? You DID read those links I gave, didn't you?

osdparts:

and have set up in my mail control panel through my hosting company

Different server, different email accounts. "[email protected]" with your hosting company is a different (and unrelated) to the "[email protected]" email account on the gmail/google servers. (assuming both have been set up).

The MX records are what determine which of the servers will handle the incoming mail for "osdparts.com".

Outgoing mail is routed through whatever you have configured your mail client for. Your local mail client (on your computer) will/should be configured to send via your ISP (not your webhost, not gmail, not google). The emails sent via ZenCart will be sent via wharever server you have defined under the email settings in Zencart. This is usually the same as you webhost, but could be any other server that you are authorised to use.

osdparts:

(***@osdparts.com) (the *** is so I don't get spammed). With it set like the google page directs, the site will send mail to people through google but when you reply to the email (which should send an email back to ***@osdparts.com)

The 'Reply-To' address is yet another thing entirely. If unset it will default to using the same address that you send your mail from. If set, it makes no difference where the mails are sent from, the replies will go to the reply-to address. I could be wrong, but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is why it is called a 'reply-to' address :)

osdparts:

I get the message

From who/where? (I don't need to know this. YOU DO).

osdparts:

saying that email address I just received the test email from doesn't exist that I posted above.

So, just to clarify, you are saying that you are receiving an email from an address that doesn't exist? This is quite normal. The email address of almost every spam email you receive will be from a non-existent address. How many times have you received an email telling you that the spammers email address doesn't exist? I'll answer that for you. Never!

Mail servers typically don't check whether the email address of a sender exists or not.

osdparts:

Meaning it doesn't exist because it's not a gmail mail address.

So, why did Google/gmail provide all that information about their MX records if they aren't willing/able to process the mails for the folk that set up to use them?

osdparts:

Note too this morning I tried the MX settings with osdparts.com set to lowest priority 20

The 'priority' settings mean exactly what they say they mean. They set the priority of which server should be contacted 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc. 99% of the the time, the 1st server (highest priority) will be the one used. The others are just for backup/redundancy purposes. Many/most sites these days only have one server (the one provided by their webhost). The main reason people use the google servers instead of (or as well as) thier host provided one, is for greater reliability, OR, to avoid using thier host provided one because it keeps getting blacklisted due to spammers. (Hmmm, does that ring a bell?)

osdparts:

so it was there and it still wouldn't let a reply to a test email pass through.

OK, so you sent the test mail. Who tried to send the reply?

osdparts:

The only way an email sent by my site can be replied to is with the osdparts.com in the MX and priority set to 0 so it is first on the list.

OR, don't have any MX records at all.... so you are back to square one.

osdparts:

Thanks again for trying to help but apparently until someone who has done this and actually made it work responds, I'm back where I started.

I've done it. It does work. The problem is with you. You haven't grasped the difference and relationship between **Email Accounts **and Email Servers.

Cheers
Rod

osdparts:

What I want to do is have zen send automatic confirm emails using my osdparts.com email address but appear to aol and other isps that it's a google (or some other) address so I don't get blocked constantly. Then if a customer email replys to it it comes directly back as ***@osdparts.com Can that be done? If so, directions/steps on how to set up will also be appreciated!
If you're going to send through google's servers, you need to have a valid account on their servers, and use that account's credentials in your ZC store.
And I'd suggest you start off by not trying to trick things into replying to your @osdparts.com email until AFTER you've got the emails sending through gmail properly first. You'll need to set the "Email-From" address in Admin->Configuration->Email Options to your gmail address.

After you've got that working, then adjusting to spoof your real address is a different hurdle to cross afterward. Not that I recommend spoofing at all.