diff --git a/vips/foreign.c b/vips/foreign.c
index a4699e55..65cc522c 100644
--- a/vips/foreign.c
+++ b/vips/foreign.c
@@ -296,7 +296,7 @@ int set_webpsave_options(VipsOperation *operation, SaveParams *params) {
                       NULL);
 
   if (!ret && params->quality) {
-    vips_object_set(VIPS_OBJECT(operation), "Q", params->quality, NULL);
+    ret = vips_object_set(VIPS_OBJECT(operation), "Q", params->quality, NULL);
   }
 
   return ret;