diff --git a/lib/storage.js b/lib/storage.js
index 6a032482a..94df5b3f2 100644
--- a/lib/storage.js
+++ b/lib/storage.js
@@ -331,7 +331,14 @@ Storage.prototype.get_package = function(name, callback) {
 
 	async.map(uplinks, function(up, cb) {
 		up.get_package(name, function(err, up_res) {
-			if (err) return cb();
+			if (err) {
+				if (up === self.local && (!err.status || err.status >= 500)) {
+					// report internal errors right away
+					return cb(err)
+				} else {
+					return cb()
+				}
+			}
 
 			if (up === self.local) {
 				// file exists in local repo