diff --git a/include/cppkafka/utils/buffered_producer.h b/include/cppkafka/utils/buffered_producer.h
index 1905345..3b2ae8e 100644
--- a/include/cppkafka/utils/buffered_producer.h
+++ b/include/cppkafka/utils/buffered_producer.h
@@ -208,8 +208,14 @@ public:
     
     /**
      * \brief Same as sync_produce but waits up to 'timeout' for acks to be received.
+     *
+     * If retries are enabled, the timeout will limit the amount of time to wait
+     * before all retries are completed.
+     *
+     * \returns True if succeeded, false otherwise. If retries are enabled, false
+     *          indicates there are still retries left.
      */
-    void sync_produce(const MessageBuilder& builder, std::chrono::milliseconds timeout);
+    bool sync_produce(const MessageBuilder& builder, std::chrono::milliseconds timeout);
 
     /**
      * \brief Produces a message asynchronously without buffering it
@@ -592,6 +598,10 @@ private:
     void async_produce(BuilderType&& message, bool throw_on_error);
     static void swap_queues(QueueType & queue1, QueueType & queue2, std::mutex & mutex);
 
+    // Static members
+    static const std::chrono::milliseconds infinite_timeout;
+    static const std::chrono::milliseconds no_timeout;
+    
     // Members
     Producer producer_;
     QueueType messages_;
@@ -618,6 +628,14 @@ private:
 #endif
 };
 
+// Full blocking wait as per RdKafka
+template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
+const std::chrono::milliseconds
+BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::infinite_timeout = std::chrono::milliseconds(-1);
+template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
+const std::chrono::milliseconds
+BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::no_timeout = std::chrono::milliseconds::zero();
+
 template <typename BufferType>
 Producer::PayloadPolicy get_default_payload_policy() {
     return Producer::PayloadPolicy::COPY_PAYLOAD;
@@ -669,11 +687,11 @@ void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::produce(const MessageBuilder& buil
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
 void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::sync_produce(const MessageBuilder& builder) {
-    sync_produce(builder, producer_.get_timeout());
+    sync_produce(builder, infinite_timeout);
 }
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
-void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::sync_produce(const MessageBuilder& builder,
+bool BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::sync_produce(const MessageBuilder& builder,
                                                            std::chrono::milliseconds timeout) {
     if (enable_message_retries_) {
         //Adding a retry tracker requires copying the builder since
@@ -682,17 +700,25 @@ void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::sync_produce(const MessageBuilder&
         MessageBuilder builder_clone(builder.clone());
         TrackerPtr tracker = add_tracker(SenderType::Sync, builder_clone);
         // produce until we succeed or we reach max retry limit
+        auto endTime = std::chrono::steady_clock::now() + timeout;
         do {
             tracker->prepare_to_retry();
             produce_message(builder_clone);
-            wait_for_acks(timeout);
+            //Wait w/o timeout since we must get the ack to avoid a race condition.
+            //Otherwise retry_again() will block as the producer won't get flushed
+            //and the delivery callback will never be invoked.
+            wait_for_acks();
         }
-        while (tracker->retry_again());
+        while (tracker->retry_again() &&
+              ((timeout == infinite_timeout) ||
+              (std::chrono::steady_clock::now() >= endTime)));
+        return !tracker->has_retries_left();
     }
     else {
         // produce once
         produce_message(builder);
         wait_for_acks(timeout);
+        return (pending_acks_ == 0);
     }
 }
 
@@ -703,12 +729,12 @@ void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::produce(const Message& message) {
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
 void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::async_flush() {
-    flush(std::chrono::milliseconds::zero(), false);
+    flush(no_timeout, false);
 }
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
 void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::flush(bool preserve_order) {
-    flush(producer_.get_timeout(), preserve_order);
+    flush(infinite_timeout, preserve_order);
 }
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
@@ -749,7 +775,8 @@ bool BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::flush(std::chrono::milliseconds ti
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
 void BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::wait_for_acks() {
-    wait_for_acks(producer_.get_timeout());
+    //block until all acks have been received
+    wait_for_acks(infinite_timeout);
 }
 
 template <typename BufferType, typename Allocator>
@@ -773,7 +800,8 @@ bool BufferedProducer<BufferType, Allocator>::wait_for_acks(std::chrono::millise
         // calculate remaining time
         remaining = timeout - std::chrono::duration_cast<std::chrono::milliseconds>
             (std::chrono::high_resolution_clock::now() - start_time);
-    } while ((pending_acks_ > 0) && (remaining.count() > 0));
+    } while ((pending_acks_ > 0) &&
+            ((remaining.count() > 0) || (timeout == infinite_timeout)));
     return (pending_acks_ == 0);
 }