diff --git a/plugins/steam_calc.py b/plugins/steam_calc.py
index cadf9e0..10d7f8a 100644
--- a/plugins/steam_calc.py
+++ b/plugins/steam_calc.py
@@ -25,14 +25,15 @@ def unicode_dictreader(utf8_data, **kwargs):
 
 @hook.command('sc')
 @hook.command
-def steamcalc(inp):
+def steamcalc(inp, reply=None):
     """steamcalc <username> [currency] - Gets value of steam account and
        total hours played. Uses steamcommunity.com/id/<nickname>. """
 
     name = inp.strip()
 
     try:
-        http.get(gauge_url.format(name))
+        reply("Collecting data, this may take a few seconds.")
+        http.get(gauge_url.format(name), timeout=15, get_method='HEAD')
         request = http.get(api_url.format(name))
     except (http.HTTPError, http.URLError):
         return "Could not get data for this user."
diff --git a/plugins/util/http.py b/plugins/util/http.py
index 4eccdf0..4409211 100755
--- a/plugins/util/http.py
+++ b/plugins/util/http.py
@@ -52,7 +52,7 @@ def get_json(*args, **kwargs):
 
 
 def open(url, query_params=None, user_agent=None, post_data=None,
-         referer=None, get_method=None, cookies=False, **kwargs):
+         referer=None, get_method=None, cookies=False, timeout=None, **kwargs):
     if query_params is None:
         query_params = {}
 
@@ -78,7 +78,10 @@ def open(url, query_params=None, user_agent=None, post_data=None,
     else:
         opener = urllib2.build_opener()
 
-    return opener.open(request)
+    if timeout:
+        return opener.open(request, timeout=timeout)
+    else:
+        return opener.open(request)
 
 
 def prepare_url(url, queries):