My last few purchases have been with Guitarguitar and Anderton, both of whom are spot on. Saw a PRS Tonare P20E on Rich Tone site, and did a nice trade in. All aspects excellent, I have a new supplier... See more
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You won’t find better service and more helpful staff. They helped me choose my first instrument at a price point that cannot be compared. They guided me towards a secondhand instrument that fitted my... See more
The guys at Richtone are great, super helpful, quick to respond and super efficient. Just sold an effects pedal to them, offered a fair price, arranged a hassle free delivery and had the funds i... See more
Just an incredibly positive experience two times in a row. In both cases, From talking to friendly staff on the phone to the overnight shipping. They were great, so helpful. I'm looking forward actua... See more
Company replied
Company details
Information provided by various external sources
Rich Tone Music are an independent, specialist guitar and instrument retailer. We stock and sell a vast range of guitars, basses, amps and accessories along with other related equipment.
Contact info
64-82 Broadfield Road, S8 0XL, Sheffield, United States
- 0114 362 77 77
- sales@richtonemusic.co.uk
- www.richtonemusic.co.uk
4.5
Excellent
16K reviews
No recent history of asking for reviews
This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative
Replied to 77% of negative reviews
Typically takes over 1 month to reply
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See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.
RICHTONE BUYER BEWARE!
BUYER BEWARE!! I had the misfortune to buy a Yamaha FS3 guitar from Richtone. I bitterly regret it. It played very nicely in the shop. When I got it home I discovered that the nice action had been achieved by sanding the saddle down almost to the bridge meaning that next time the guitar needed any attention to the action It would require a very expensive neck reset! When I took the guitar in, the manager (who's name unfortunately I never discovered; his staff wouldn't tell me) agreed that this was true. However he said it was a second hand guitar (it cost me £575)!! and once I left the shop this was my problem. This company is an AUTHORISED TAYLOR DEALER (unbelievable I know, but true)!
The anonymous manager was quite agressive in his manner and point blank refused to take the guitar back unless I paid a 20 per cent "restocking fee". (In fairness he later reduced this to £75, which I paid just to get away from this horrible shop and its 'customer service').
Rather than customer service, the manager showed open contempt for his customers, conveying the opinion that many of them spent their time lying to him if they had a problem with their purchase. Unbelievable I know but true.
To compound my woes I had spent around £2000 on a Taylor from Richtone at the same time which I found had also had the low saddle shaving treatment (although not as extreme, but still much lower than Taylor's own lowest specified reference point of 1/16" minimum saddle height above the bridge). To be fair the action of this guitar was fine. When I asked for reassurance that this guitar had not had a neck reset, the manager told me his opinion that it most likely had not, despite me pointing out to him flakes of finish near the neck guitar body joint, which the manager said was 'putty' from when Taylor built it. I have owned many Taylors and have never seen this 'putty' before. I have no way of knowing without getting a professional Luthier to remove the neck; I certainly would not trust Richtone with doing this! Fortunately Taylor's neck resets are pretty straightforward so I decided to cross this bridge when I come to it (the guitar is beautiful, a high end 818e). When I got the guitar home I found that the 'putty' was actually varnish that had flaked when the neck was removed. In other words pretty strong evidence that the neck had indeed been removed at least once. The manager assured me twice that he had not carried out any work on the guitar and it was exactly as he had received it in part exchange. Is it plausible that he (a Taylor trained technician) had not noticed this. Apparently yes.
So in summary it cost me £75 to buy a horrible guitar (the yamaha) from this shop. Time will tell what condition the Taylor is in. I am relating this distressing experience exactly as it occurred today. My downfall was that I let my enthusiasm for the guitars and misplaced trust in the integrity of the manager and his shop (and indeed Taylor) prevent me from checking the guitars carefully, much as historically you had to check a second hand car in the seventies for flaking paint etc. (Oh, and watch out for the trick the manager does with the truss rod. He did it on both the guitars, leaving a little bit of relief on the neck so that he can then lower the action further to mollify the unsuspecting customer (me)! Again, I have no way of knowing if this was a coincidence or a deliberate ploy. I also do not know if other customers have had this terrible experience from this manager and this shop, but his remarks lead me to believe that, sadly, my experience of Richtone is fairly commonplace. I also have no way of knowing at which point or by whom the guitars had been set up in this manner.
I will be contacting Taylor UK to give them a copy of this review and ask them their opinion of my experience.
If you do decide to buy from Richtone, I would highly recommend buying online as then the manager will have a legal requirement to refund you without the 'restocking fee' he charged me if you have the same misfortune I had!
September 17, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Richard Aliwell ,
Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. Lots of detail in the review for the 2 second hand guitars that you bought so its hard to respond to every comment. We don't recall this incident in quite the same way but we are sorry that you found the experience distressing - that is certainly not our intention when customers come into our shop. We have not heard back from Taylor with regards to this.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
Advertisement
Annoying!!...one page of used…
Annoying!!...one page of used instruments, then 85! Yes, eighty five pages of used stock already sold...wasted anhour going through them looking for something still available!! Jesus guys, get the sold stock deleted now!!!
September 13, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Richard
Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review.
The listings on are website are reviewed monthly and removed after a certain period of time
We choose to keep them listed as a back catalogue of sales as it increase our visibility on search engines and is a useful tool for customers to see the sort of instruments we buy and sell.
You can easily see what's in stock buy clicking the lists on the left and the in stock items will always default to the top. If there is nothing listed in stock then we don’t have any available.
We do always have new stock coming in so be sure to check back regularly or if you're local why not visit the store in person ?
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
I have been phoning for days
I have been phoning for days but no-one EVER answers the phone,Ive left messages, requested call back and no-one replies. It’s impossible to contact them via phone - I’m shopping elsewhere now and won’t contact them again - Rubbish!!!
September 6, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Lee Travers
Many Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. I am sorry to hear that you have not been able to get through to us on the phone. Our phone line is very busy and we do recommend that if you cannot speak to someone then please do email us at sales@richtonemusic.co.uk for (usually) a same day response.
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
Very slow and unhelpful refund process
I requested a refund on July 30th, and as of August 7th, I still haven’t received the money. The refund was supposedly “processed” only several days later, and I have no confirmation or tracking of the transaction.
Customer support is very dry and vague—they provide no concrete information unless you constantly call them and push for answers. It feels like they only take action when you pressure them directly.
I paid promptly and cancelled promptly; they should refund promptly as well. Extremely disappointing experience.
August 7, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Mr Yermakovich
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. You ordered a guitar with a long lead-time and then cancelled the guitar after changing your mind. There was no problem with this but as we explained in our emails to you that a refund does take a few days to be processed. You called the shop as well and I wrote back to you after you called to explain how the delay in receiving refunds on your debit card after returning items online is usually due to the multi-step process involving the merchant, payment processor, and bank.
Our website clearly states refunds take 3-5 days to be processed which is fairly usual for most online retailers and I'm am not sure as to how I could have been more detailed in my explanation of this.
The shop is very busy most of the time and they do not have all the details as to the status of online customer orders which is why they could not have helped you further.
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Sales and Customer Service
This is what is wrong in 2025… and is a…
This is what is wrong in 2025… and is a shame..
Hi Tony,
It’s a business choice. We sell everything we have easily in the UK and don’t need to ship outside currently,.
I’m sorry we can’t help
Best wishes
James Ferguson
richtonemusic
August 2, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Tony Sulas, Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review.
You asked if we could ship an item to Italy. I am sorry that we can't and if you had posted the early email we sent you , readers would see it was apologetic and explanatory.
The facts are that we are a small business in the UK and the costs in time , couriers and admin along with the potential of having to collect something if its not right mean that we have taken the business decision not to ship out of the UK.
If Brexit had not happened then it would be a different story but that is where we find ourselves in 2025.
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Sales and Customer Service
Advertisement
Recommended by my guitar tutor...nah
Recommended by my guitar tutor. I have been looking to buy an electric guitar since last November. Visted Rich Tone and had an intial look at the end of last year. Great choice and competitive prices. Having taken advice again from my guitar tutor I went to the store today hoping to play a few guitars from across manufacturers and price ranges. Visited today and having looked around and been a bit overwhelmed by the choice, especially the 2nd hand guitars, I spoke with a guy who was on the counter. I told him I had been advised to try a few guitars looking for my first electric. He pointed at an area where the 'budget guitars' were on display ( did I give off an air of 'budget') and said he was busy dealing with a box on the counter. I had a look where he had pointed and the area was truly budget ( I was hoping to try a Fender Player II and an Epiphone). He still seemed busy so I had another look around expecting him to come over when he had finished with 'the box'. He didn't. I took it as a measure of how interested Rich Tone were in having my money and after another 15 minutes I left. Maybe I should have persisted and gone back to the counter or caught another member of staff to help but by then my impression of Rich Tone had gone down the toilet and my confidence that they wanted to help me find the right guitar had faded. I appreciate that a 'no hassell' approach is best in sales like this but having asked for help I was hoping staff would not forget me.
July 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Pete C Jones , Many thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. I am very sorry to hear about this incident in our store - this is not what is expected from our staff. You comments about this have been passed on to all relevant members of the shop team and I hope that you would be able to visit us again and have a better experience.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
Have just recently received this email…
Have just recently received this email for the third time purchasing different items:
Many thanks for your recent purchase
Unfortunately, due to a stock error, we have oversold this item.
We don’t have a date as to when we might have further stock available so have so have refunded you.
This is very disappointing to receive this after payment. The running of the webpage regarding stock clearly is not updated and to receive an automated reply and have to wait for a refund is an appalling way to run a business. Never had issues like this purchasing from GuitarGuitar and Anderton’s and I will stick to using them moving forward.
July 17, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Hello Steve
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review and I am very sorry this has happened before to you.
I have just looked back through your account and can see 2 cancellations in the last 6 months. However , by way of explanation , when you buy items on Klarna or V12 they can sometimes take some time to be approved and the item sale is only confirmed back to our site once its been processed and then is taken out of stock automatically.
In both these cases the item you wanted was bought in store whilst the order was only being approved and there was only a 15 minute gap between the 2 purchases.
I can only apologise for this and it’s not our intention to cause frustration.
We are more than happy to take a small deposit over the phone whilst a V12 application is being done to hold a guitar if you see something else you are interested – we do have a very fast turnover of stock and some of the more desirable items do sell very quickly.
You can email us as well if you’re not able to get to the phone and we can take a PayPal deposit as well.
I can see that you have been a good customer over the years, and we are grateful for this so if you see something you want in the future please do give us a call and let us know what’s happened and we will do our best to help you.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
Be honest...
We will buy your guitar for £500 we sell it for £750
They did buy it for £500 but now for sale on their site for £899!!
Be HONEST at least folks when dealing with your customers or people will lose trust in your shop.
July 9, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Paul
Many Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review and for selling the gear to us.
We do try to be as transparent as possible with our listings and any price we offer an item for is usually speculative and not necessarily what an item will eventually sell for. Our price estimates are always based on what items are likely to sell for. Everybody wants a deal and we usually have to offer a discount or take a further part exchanges so please don’t think we are taking advantage. The price we offer is always based on a suggested and reasonable sell price and then we pay around two thirds and on balance this is what it usually works out at. Not all items sell quickly and the prices come down to accommodate for this over time. Sadly sometimes we make a loss but that’s all part of the risk of buying and selling 2nd hand items.
Furthermore , the costs involved in selling 2nd hand items are considerable. For example we have to test, clean and set all the items up. We then have to picture them and get them listed on multiple systems and selling platforms. We have to pack and ship the items, usually free of charge and we have to offer a warranty and collection should the item break which is underwritten by ourselves. We also offer a lot of items on 3rd party sites such as ebay and the costs can be up to 12% of the sell price plus we have the VAT to pay on top and all the staff, store and administration costs in addition so our margins are a lot less than it may seem.
We are not dishonest, we were upfront with our offer and indeed we make a point of telling sellers that we may advertise for more and it was your choice to sell to us.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
Dishonest
I traded 2 items as a PX on a guitar these guys had.
Initially I sent images of my items for valuation, to which they replied with the values that they would buy from me and then sell on.
Now, I'm not naive to business and appreciate that you get less for trading than you would selling privately, as you get your quick sale and the business takes the risk and has overheads etc etc etc, BUT....
I accepted the offer, based on the difference between what they bought for and what they would sell for. I thought their buy in prices were tight, but understood their margin.
Imagine how mugged off I feel then, when the day I see both items listed for £50 each more than they told me they would sell for. £100 extra for them, off my back. That's poor form.
I was also told (after accepting the deal and without any forewarning that cash/debit was a condition of the offer) that i couldn't use interest free credit because they'd already done a deal and it cost them 12%. Pretty sure that's close to the bone with finance rules- certainly not ethical.
By this point I was over a barrel; the guitar I was buying was in great condition and very rare. That's the only reason they get a second star; their stock and knowledge is great, but as a business..... absolute sharks.
I certainly won't use them again and urge anyone looking to trade to use someone else to avoid getting mugged.
July 1, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Aeron
Many Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review and for selling the gear to us.
We do try to be as transparent as possible with our listings and any price we offer an item for is usually speculative and not necessarily what an item will eventually sell for. Our price estimates are always based on what items are likely to sell for. Everybody wants a deal and we usually have to offer a discount or take a further part exchanges so please don’t think we are taking advantage. The price we offer is always based on a suggested and reasonable sell price and then we pay around two thirds and on balance this is what it usually works out at. Not all items sell quickly and the prices come down to accommodate for this over time. Sadly sometimes we make a loss but that’s all part of the risk of buying and selling 2nd hand items.
Furthermore , the costs involved in selling 2nd hand items are considerable. For example we have to test, clean and set all the items up. We then have to picture them and get them listed on multiple systems and selling platforms. We have to pack and ship the items, usually free of charge and we have to offer a warranty and collection should the item break which is underwritten by ourselves. We also offer a lot of items on 3rd party sites such as ebay and the costs can be up to 12% of the sell price plus we have the VAT to pay on top and all the staff, store and administration costs in addition so our margins are a lot less than it may seem.
We are not dishonest or sharks , we were upfront with our offer and indeed we make a point of telling sellers that we may advertise for more and it was your choice to sell to us.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
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Great experience
Bought a used amp head and power bank. Both as described and packed incredibly well. Will be back.
May 21, 2025
Unprompted review
Absolutely awful experience with these…
Absolutely awful experience with these people. The staff are very rude and seem to think they know everything.
An awful experience to have to deal with them.
It's easier to use a different guitar shop.
May 15, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Brian C
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review.
I 'm sorry that you have had an awful experience with us . I know all of our staff , they are a talented , hardworking and enthusiastic bunch and put customers satisfaction first and foremost so I have to disagree with your comments.
As you have given us no details surrounding your interaction with us and therefore no opportunity to respond then I'd probably say yes Brian , its best if you use a different guitar shop.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
No refund forthcoming yet returned guitar is back up for sale!
Bought a guitar which was not as described, plus the packing was dreadful. Sent it back at my expense, and still waiting for the refund. Have called numerous times. The sales staff seem helpful and very friendly, but the accounts department have still not refunded me and yet, the returned guitar is back up for sale on their site. They keep saying “we have 14 days to refund you”. They are quick enough though to take your money, so they should be quick enough to refund the money. Not happy at all. Poor show. Avoid.
June 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Matt,
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. I can see that you returned a guitar to us as you felt it was too worn. We have not received any information with regards to the packaging from you until this review so cannot really comment on that.
We received the guitar back on the 10th June and you were refunded back on your card on the 13th June. The guitar went back into stock at this point and the transaction was completed within the 3-5 days which is indicated on our websites terms and conditions.
We did explain this to you over the phone that once the refund has been initiated by us its not an instant refund - the delay in receiving refunds on your debit card after returning items online is usually due to the multi-step process involving the merchant, payment processor, and bank.
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
DPD NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE AND RICHTONEMUSIC DONT GIVE A DAMM!
I was selling my guitar to them, the store is in Sheffield so I opted to use their courier, as it turns out they use DPD. I packed the guitar in a box they collected, on collection I told the driver " its a guitar " and the address is " Richtonemusic "!...A day later Richtonemusic contact me and say the guitar is damaged ( cracks in arm and broken switch). They say they are not interested in buying now !!... This guitar was in perfect condition prior to collection and was worth ( according to them) worth £350. My argument is this " what the hell are they using DPD for if they are so destructive, and all parcel's should be treated with the utmost respect!!! and why use an uninsured delivery service too boot !
June 10, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear John
Thanks for taking the time to give us a review. I am sorry to hear you were disappointed with the outcome of the sale of your guitar. As I don't have any of your details I am unsure of what happened here but its very very rare for items to be damaged in transit and its usually due to the packing of an item. We provide full instructions on how to do this and also offer an insured option as well which was not taken up in this case. I am sorry that you felt let down by DPD as well.
I am not sure as to why you felt our service to have been "unreasonable with rude conduct" as your review suggests but if we have missed something here then we do apologise again.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Rich Tone Music
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Great experience!
This is the first time I have purchased a guitar from rich tone. It was a 2nd hand HB 335 copy. Guitar was really well packaged, the best packaged guitar i have ever received. The guitar was in still in tune and perfectly set up as well with new strings. For £150 an absolute bargain. Will be using Rich tone again.
May 20, 2025
Unprompted review
Excellent, professional company
This is a great company to deal with. Musicians dealing with musicians. Fair prices, excellent communication and a very positive outcome always. Would highly recommend to all fellow musicians.
April 25, 2025
Unprompted review
Have used Richtone numerous times
Have used Richtone numerous times, offered me a rock bottom price stating they would sell my guitar at £2400, then proceeded to sell it at £2799, i expect to take a lose when I px but hate being lied to. Disappointed
April 7, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Dom Tutalo
Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. I am sorry to hear that you were not happy with our quote on your guitars that you offered to us. Whilst I can't be sure which guitar you are talking about as there were several , I believe the one in question was sold for around what we told you (£2400) and we are always very clear that we do sometimes ask for more both verbally and on email.
I can also see that you did receive a discount on the guitar that you purchased against the exchanges.
We have been buying guitars for many years and we do try to be as transparent as possible with our listings and any price we offer an item for is usually speculative and not necessarily what an item will eventually sell for. Our price estimates are always based on what items are likely to sell for. Everybody wants a deal and we usually have to offer a discount or take a further part exchanges so please don’t think we are taking advantage. The price we offer is always based on a suggested and reasonable sell price and then we pay around two thirds and on balance this is what it usually works out at. Not all items sell quickly and the prices come down to accommodate for this over time. Sadly sometimes we make a loss but that’s all part of the risk of buying and selling 2nd hand items.
In way of further explanation, the costs involved in selling 2nd hand items are considerable. For example we have to test, clean and set all the items up. We then have to picture them and get them listed on multiple systems and selling platforms. We have to pack and ship the items, usually free of charge and we have to offer a warranty and collection should the item break which is underwritten by ourselves. We also offer a lot of items on 3rd party sites such as ebay and the costs can be up to 12% of the sell price plus we have the VAT to pay on top and all the staff, store and administration costs in addition so our margins are a lot less than it may seem.
I hope this goes some way of explaining the process and I hope you don’t think badly of us
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Sales and Customer Service
Great used product delivered quickly
Bought a used guitar pedal, it arrived a couple of days later in great condition and well packaged. Would buy from again
April 4, 2025
Unprompted review
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Great service, fast turnaround
I both bought and sold - great service for the guitar I sold, solid collection process & fast payment.
The guitar bought (Burns Marquee) is excellent - not a mark, plays like a dream. Really great service.
Just a solid 10/10 all round. Will definitely shop at Rich Tone again!
April 3, 2025
Unprompted review
TRASH COMPANY!!!!!
Long story short Rich tone Music and FedEx(their courier of choice) did not specify where my package had been delivered so after hours of searching I found where my package was anyway it didnt matter because it had been stolen so my initial reaction was not to worry because someone is accountable and I was almost sure I would be compensated in some way but no they didn’t give a sh*t so I just have to forget about it and to anyone who gets a package stolen from them and you dont have physical video evidence of the crime taking place then they will 10/10 times get away with it so just be careful DO NOT ORDER FROM THESE MONEY GRABBERS!!!!
March 4, 2025
Unprompted review
Reply from Rich Tone Music
Dear Charlie
Many Thanks for taking the time to leave us a review. As the Police and Fedex ( and ourselves) have already stated this is a civil dispute between neighbours and we nor Fedex are liable for what happened. Your abusive messages are not necessary and we are quite happy for you to do business elsewhere.
Kind Regards
JO Ferguson
Sales and Customer Service
keyboard repair
I bought a second-hand keyboard and one key "popped up". I took it back and Tom removed 100s of screws before fixing the key in under 20 minutes. It now works perfectly and it was a bargain price too!.
March 19, 2025
Unprompted review
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