diff --git a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
index 3d7a0825..52c2c7f7 100644
--- a/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
+++ b/bigchaindb/commands/bigchain.py
@@ -64,7 +64,14 @@ def run_configure(args, skip_if_exists=False):
 def run_init(args):
     """Initialize the database"""
     bigchaindb.config_utils.file_config(args.config)
-    db.init()
+    # TODO Provide mechanism to:
+    # 1. prompt the user to inquire whether they wish to drop the db
+    # 2. force the init, (e.g., via -f flag)
+    try:
+        db.init()
+    except DatabaseAlreadyExists:
+        print('The database already exists.')
+        print('If you wish to re-initialize it, first drop it.')
 
 
 def run_drop(args):
diff --git a/tests/test_commands.py b/tests/test_commands.py
index 6cc542d4..fc5db73e 100644
--- a/tests/test_commands.py
+++ b/tests/test_commands.py
@@ -53,3 +53,9 @@ def test_bigchain_show_config(capsys, mock_file_config):
     pprint(config)
     expected_outout_config, _ = capsys.readouterr()
     assert output_config == expected_outout_config
+
+
+def test_bigchain_run_init_when_db_exists(mock_file_config, mock_db_init_with_existing_db):
+    from bigchaindb.commands.bigchain import run_init
+    args = Namespace(config=None)
+    run_init(args)