This isn't as big a factor as many would have you believe, though. I have a list of nearly 15,000 people via Aweber. How many autoresponders do I get when I send an email? 10 or 12. Now, if you are Facebook, that might be a consideration. But for startups, do the right thing and go the personal route.
I think it depends heavily on your industry. Out of our weekly distribution to 20,000+ opt-in subscribers, on average we get 400+ out-of-office replies.
