diff --git a/src/tool_operate.c b/src/tool_operate.c
index 86936ba594..5a5fc8745e 100644
--- a/src/tool_operate.c
+++ b/src/tool_operate.c
@@ -554,7 +554,7 @@ static CURLcode post_per_transfer(struct GlobalConfig *global,
           /* store in a 'long', make sure it doesn't overflow */
           if(retry_after > LONG_MAX/1000)
             sleeptime = LONG_MAX;
-          else
+          else if((retry_after * 1000) > sleeptime)
             sleeptime = (long)retry_after * 1000; /* milliseconds */
 
           /* if adding retry_after seconds to the process would exceed the