The Guitar Marketplace Avis 

Just like the previous review I won a guitar on the 11th December. They were reluctant to try and send out before Christmas despite still advertising other completions as same day dispatch. I have heard nothing since despite emailing. starting to think the positive reviews are scams.

12/01/26 - guitar arrived this morning. Shortly afterwards I got some emails from the company.

This used to be a 5* review, sadly changing it to a 1. I won a Fender Strat on 12th December, and agreed via email with Guitar Marketplace that we would hold off on shipping until the new year. They said they were busy, I said I was going away for a week, and so this was agreeable and fair. Since then, tumbleweeds and radio silence. I’ve contacted them on three separate occasions over the past 8 days via email, and they’ve ignored every one. What a great way to treat a customer, and a prize winner no less. Let’s see how quickly I get a reply with a 1* review in the mix.

Update since this review was posted on 11th January: Guitar Marketplace responded with the comment you can see, and tried to have my review taken down by Trustpliot, reporting it as defamatory. Trustpilot declined this request and decided my review was fair.

What followed this was in excess of 40 emails back and forth between Guitar Marketplace and I, which got less and less professional as the conversation progressed. I was liaising with Ben who simply did not respond to emails, and I found him to be blunt, abrasive, and rude when he did reply. The email chain went from frustrating to ridiculous. Fast forward to 31st January, and the guitar was finally delivered.

I emailed Ben to confirm receipt of the instrument, typing this exact email to him;

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“Thanks for getting the guitar sent out. I said I would email to say when it arrived, and it slipped my mind, so apologies.

I must say gents, this was a truly awful experience which has resulted in me simply deleting your app. A spectacular 41 emails back and forth between you and I Ben. I found you difficult to communicate with, unfriendly, uninterested, and rude. So much so I have absolutely no want to give you my custom in the future.

I’ve read back through our thread to check if I’m being unreasonable here, but I can confidently say that I was perfectly polite and fair. If you love guitars, and if you love your business, then I encourage you to have a little more respect for your customers. I didn’t feel any from you.

Regards,

Stephen”
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I received a prompt response which was very polite, albeit for the first time in our correspondence, to say my account has been suspended, banning me from the platform.

I really wish I could upload the entire email thread for the public to see, to display just how awful this experience was. If I were you I would steer well clear clear, and spend your money with another app / website offering the same guitar competition format. These guys may well love guitars, but they clearly don’t like customers.

It's an ok site but can cost you a small fortune buying tickets to win a Les paul or a Martin guitar. Been trying for months, but gave up. They do keep you sweet by letting you win £5 credit to spend on tickets.

This is the first time I have ever written an online review for any company. I wanted to give this company every possible opportunity to resolve things privately. As a business owner myself, I’m very conscious of the impact negative feedback can have and would not normally leave a review, but I’ve been left with no choice.

I’ve had a very disappointing experience with prize fulfilment from this company.

I won an Epiphone SG guitar and, separately, a Boss clip-on tuner. In both cases, delivery took an unreasonably long time and required repeated chasing on my part.

The tuner was won on 15 November and, despite claiming within the stated timeframe, it still has not arrived at the time of writing this review. I have sent multiple follow-up emails, and my last three emails remain unanswered.

The same pattern occurred with the guitar — long delays, multiple follow-ups, and repeated requests to reconfirm details I had already provided (such as my address and confirmation that I claimed within 30 days). Each response felt as though the previous correspondence hadn’t been read. The guitar eventually arrived, but only after persistent chasing and far later than it reasonably should have.

When the guitar did arrive, it had hairline cracks on both sides of the headstock. After the lengthy back-and-forth just to receive it, I didn’t have the confidence or patience to raise yet another issue, which in itself says a lot about the overall experience.

Having now read other reviews on this platform, this does not appear to be a one-off, but rather a recurring theme in customer feedback regarding delays, communication, and fulfilment. I also note that responses to similar reviews often appear defensive and accusatory. Everything stated here is factual and documented, and if required I am happy to share a redacted version of the email chain publicly to remain fully transparent.

By contrast, I also won a guitar from Guitar Gear Giveaway (I appreciate I’ve been lucky), and the difference in service was night and day. They contacted me immediately by phone, were genuinely enthusiastic, and clearly communicated when I could expect delivery — exactly how a prize win should feel.

I understand delays can happen, but the lack of organisation, poor communication, and the need for the customer to repeatedly do the company’s admin is not acceptable — especially when fulfilling prizes that have already been won.

It’s not about the value of the items; it’s about the principle and the service. Based on my experience, prize fulfilment and customer support need significant improvement.

Is a genuine site good prizes if you win you get them within a week, I've been lucky enough to win twice

I’m always sceptical about online raffles, however I’ve not won twice with guitar marketplace and I’ve not spent a fortune on tickets, I’ve won a les Paul and a Taylor both for under £20! I can’t recommend them enough, I usually don’t win on raffles so to win twice in a year is unbelievable, thank you to everyone involved

This Great Guitar competition site is
Very easy to enter, and straight forward .
I personally have not yet won a big prize, but have won quite a few small free app giveaways.

I’m really disappointed with my experience using The Guitar Marketplace. I entered a paid competition for a ESP LTD Kirk Hammett KH-202 and, despite the advertised draw date, I never saw any evidence that the draw actually took place. There were no updates, announcements, or winners posted that I could find, which left me feeling very uneasy about where my money went.

I tried to get clarification, but the communication was slow and I never received a clear explanation. At this point, I don’t feel confident continuing to take part in their competitions, and I would encourage others to exercise caution before spending money.

I hope the company improves its transparency and provides clear proof of competition outcomes for customers in the future.

Great little app
Great big prizes

My dealings with TGM have been easy and starightforward, nice to deal with. Wish I could win a competition!!

It does what it says on the tin. My mate won a les Paul on the guitar marketplace and it was delivered the next day by Royal Mail ( because we live too far from you) and it was all set up ready to go, also in great condition including the case. Since then I,ve been having a dabble but so far no luck. However I will persist and one day i might win. In the meantime carry on the good work, three cheers for the guitar marketplace. Don’t forget spend wisely. By the way if I win anytime soon I might give you a five star rating ha ha.

Won a prize and didn’t receive it. Asked repeatedly for tracking information and got nothing. Feel like I’ve been had.

This is a great site for Guitar competitions. I have been playing for a couple of years and have had several wins along the way.

Communications with Ben and Matthew have always been great and it is always exciting to see the notification email to say that you have won a prize.

I really like that they run competitions for harder to find gems and always have custom shop guitars on offer. It is also great that they have competitions with different entry costs/odds. The main thing is that this is a trustworthy site, run by people who love guitars.

The Guitar Market Place is a great site to win a chance of picking up a superb instrument at a low cost. I entered a competition for just 20p and won an Epiphone banjo worth around £400. I was informed straight away I had won and the instrument was with me the next day. Excellent service!

Actually won a prize, albeit a small one.

For anyone setting on the fence on whether to enter and whether these draws are legitimate, I'll share my experience with guitar raffles. This is the 3rd guitar I've won since I started buying tickets a few years back, I also don't play very often, Ill play when i see something I really like. I've one 2 guitars on another site and one with Guitar Market Place. I'm proof that not only can you win but you can win more than once. I never buy more then 3-5 tickets for any of the draws and I've managed to win 3 amazing guitars. This is my second win with the gents at Guitar Market Place, my first was a chorus pedal in an instant win competition that was shipped to me within 2 days of the win and I've had the same experience with the Road Worn Strat I've just won, which has become my favourite guitar. So my advice is, if you are somebody that dreams owning a guitar that may be out your reach financially , put down the same amount of money you would for a cup of coffee and you may just win the guitar of your dreams, I have and 3times now. Once you win the gents get in touch with you and the ship the guitar within 2 days. So my advice is, give it a go, you may find yourself writing a review. Thanks to Ben, Matt and the rest of the team.

Great prizes and team highly recommend

Fantastic prizes for a small outlay.

Great prizes great interaction with the app and staff.

They really play on fomo and you are highly unlikely to win. It is just more gambling with fancy looking guitars to pull you in. Be better off saving up and buying one than using this site

Edit: The guitar market place tried to have my review removed as defamatory.

They then blocked my account and stole money from me. They have so far not responded to requests for a refund. Thieves, avoid them at all cost.