diff --git a/archreposrv b/archreposrv
index deeb3cd..2e85f96 100755
--- a/archreposrv
+++ b/archreposrv
@@ -225,8 +225,13 @@ class EventHandler(pyinotify.ProcessEvent):
         newd = os.path.join(base, newarch)
         newpath = os.path.join(newd, file)
         if action == 'add':
-          os.symlink(os.path.join('..', arch, file), newpath)
-          self._real_dispatch(newd, ActionInfo(newpath, action))
+          try:
+            os.symlink(os.path.join('..', arch, file), newpath)
+          except FileExistsError:
+            # already there? do nothing then.
+          else:
+            # XXX: this should be removed as soon as symlinks are supported
+            self._real_dispatch(newd, ActionInfo(newpath, action))
         else:
           try:
             os.unlink(newpath)