diff --git a/package_manager/bpkg/types.py b/package_manager/bpkg/types.py
index e3068c4..f2a3c8e 100644
--- a/package_manager/bpkg/types.py
+++ b/package_manager/bpkg/types.py
@@ -236,6 +236,10 @@ class Repository:
 
         try:
             resp = requests.get(self.url, headers=req_headers, timeout=60)
+        except requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema as err:
+            raise exceptions.DownloadException("Invalid schema. Did you mean to use http://?") from err
+        except requests.exceptions.ConnectionError as err:
+            raise exceptions.DownloadException("Failed to connect. Are you sure '%s' is the correct URL?" % self.url) from err
         except requests.exceptions.RequestException as err:
             raise exceptions.DownloadException(err) from err