diff --git a/zsnaplib/__init__.py b/zsnaplib/__init__.py
index 653695c..566e001 100644
--- a/zsnaplib/__init__.py
+++ b/zsnaplib/__init__.py
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def do_zfs_command(args, zfs_cmd, pipecmd=None):
     # check if we try to create a snapshot that already exists. This can happen
     # if the script is run every minute and it takes more time than that to
     # create all snapshots
-    if ctrl_proc.returncode == 1 and re.match(re_err_ok, err):
+    if ctrl_proc.returncode == 1 and re.match(re_err_ok, err.decode('utf-8')):
         pass
     elif ctrl_proc.returncode != 0:
         raise ZFSSnapshotError('Failed to execute {}: {}'.format(cmd, err))