Dark Sphere Reviews 50

My package was not delivered, the member of staff has been completely useless, barely responds leading me to escalate the issue with PayPal. The staff member then made false claims on the dispute and then accused me of fraud.
Darksphere don’t give a shit about customer rights or service.
Save yourself the trouble and shop elsewhere!

Dark Sphere

Dark Sphere in Shepherd’s Bush is a fantastic hobby store and easily one of the best spots in London for tabletop gaming.

The staff are genuinely passionate about what they do. You can tell they’re not just there to sell boxes — they actually care about the games, the hobby, and the community around it. Whether you’re into Warhammer, TCGs, board games, or RPGs, they’re knowledgeable, approachable, and happy to chat through recommendations or hobby advice. It feels like a community hub rather than just a retail space.

The in-store experience is where Dark Sphere really shines. The atmosphere is welcoming, the selection is strong, and there’s a real sense that this is a place built by hobbyists for hobbyists.

That said, the website does let it down a bit. Stock information and general usability can be frustrating, and it’s definitely a store where you’re better off going in person if you can. If you’re looking to place pre-orders, it’s often smoother to do so through their Facebook page rather than relying on the website.

Overall though, as a physical store and community space, Dark Sphere is excellent — and absolutely worth visiting if you’re anywhere near Shepherd’s Bush.

I used to use Dark Sphere a lot back before I had kids and actually had time to play 40k. After having trouble getting my hands on a Gundam TCG starter deck from another seller I saw that Dark Sphere had just received stock. The deck was dispatched and delivered super quickly so I was able to get playing asap. Their quick response made the other seller look really poor in comparison.

Terrible buying experience for Pokemon cards.

I mentioned to the guy that I needed a few cards but he insisted that I scan the in store "Card Market" QR code to access available stock.

Friction point number 1: The store is underground and spotty WIFI at best.

Friction point number 2: You need to set up a Card Market account, needing to bypass the insane number of CAPTCHAs.

Friction point No.3: It's next to impossible to filter the cards you want as when searching it takes you to the cards available at all vendors. Scrolling through the list of cards available on DarkSphere is incredibly slow and painful!

Just put the bulk of the cards out or help the customers in person. If they know which cards they're after don't just turn them away and get them to sit at a table scrolling a third party website in a dingy corner like a basement dweller.

What's the point in having a physical store - I'll just buy online from other vendors. Good luck.

As a fan of Warhammer and sadly not being a lottery winner I'm always appreciative of any company that provides warhammer with any form of price reduction. I've ordered from Dark Sphere repeatedly and every time stuff arrives in good time and at a reasonable price. They are clear about what's in and what has to be ordered, it's an easy to use website. No complaints

A real shame, I was a customer since the old days when they were in Waterloo but recent experiences have made me look elsewhere. It seems they don't even send orders without having to remind them, then think up lazy excuses to why they could not send it on time, which is just plain dishonest lies. How unfortunate Alex I think you are helping to sink a profitable business and hemorrhaging loyal customers.

Dark Sphere is my local store and I pop in, order online and preorder regularly. I spend a fair amount of money with DS and I have done since the store started in Waterloo.
As others have said the stock levels aren’t great and the website is rarely correct. But if you grab and longer serving members of staff they sometimes find what you’re looking for.

However today’s visit has me doubting my loyalty.
I asked for help and the person serving me didn’t seem very willing. Clearly DS has issues with theft as you cannot pick up any stock. You have to be assisted. No skin of lid my nose if they have the staff and the stock.
I ordered my items and reached out to take them but was clearly not allowed to touch the stock until I paid.
This hasn’t happened before and some of the staff even recognise me when I pop in.
No biggy, I will have a browse.
Sadly the staff member stayed seated at the till so I felt obliged to go and pay.
I noticed a box on the counter along with loads of impulse items and just moved the box to see the cover, I was told in no uncertain terms this was someone else item.
I paid and left. I have an order outstanding but I will shop elsewhere until it’s in stock for me to collect.
Disappointing service and I left annoyed by the treatment from the staff member.

Alex from the company is insane.

I raised a support ticket asking for an update and he proceeded to interrogate me. Just answer my actual questions and move on instead of trying to make me out to be stupid. Which is great customer service. Well done alex. Found someplace better which offers the same prices and no delivery fee so its actually better. Cancelled my order as I do not wish for a company who employs that kind of person to handle their customer enquiries.

I’ll admit I was dubious, some not so good reviews out there, hence i’m leaving some. Honest feedback is that the website didn’t feel convincing for some reason but I took comfort from it allowing PayPal. Anyway, pricing for Mcfarlane stuff seemed bizarrely cheap, messaged support to check they were new, undamaged packaging etc. Quickly responded confirming they’re new. Ordered 3 items, selected 24 hour RM shipping which was just over £3 and added a note saying that the box condition was important as i’m a bit of a collector.. Items received way earlier than expected as it was bank holiday, items were actually the most pristine i’ve had of any supplier to date, well packed etc. Expected something iffy due to the low prices but, best service of any, so very happy, thanks :)

I ordered some product expecting it all to be fine until 2 weeks before release they cancelled my order, due to stock issues which is completely understandable. However when I went in store I saw the product I ordered clear as day they had it in stock but ramped up the price it nearly cost double what I paid on the order.

This isn't the only thing. I witness them charge different prices for the same product that was bought seconds apart. They bumped the price by a extra £5 and when I asked about the product of curiosity I was also given the new price.

This is outrageous and I can't believe how this store runs it business like this. It's bad practice and clearly the people who leave good reviews are friends and family of people who work at that store.

Had a really offputting experience here today after travelling from outside of London to visit.

I have seen other reviews comment on tables infront of the shelves blocking access to the products on sale. Boy is this true. One half of the store had this barrier. A woman who works at the store came over as I was trying to get my eyes into telephoto mode. I politely asked If I could come around the tables in order to see the paints I wanted to buy as I couldn't really see the names or colours from that distance. I was told pretty bluntly "no".

Okay then, no worries. I get you only care about your online orders. In which case I advise you to shut that brick and mortar if you aren't going to care about the people that visit it.

I won't be visiting online or otherwise, ever again.

Ok, I retract what I said previously.

Literally been waiting over a month for my last order of a loss leader product. it seems like they canceled 4 other people's orders to fund the purchase of new stock. And are claiming that it's out of stock at the manufacturer's despite the fact it's in stock at every other store, and they have more coming in. But charge a slightly higher price.

Just hire a guy to keep inventory. I've been to the store the staff are admittedly chill dudes but for real update the website more than once every 2 weeks, they still have summer sale stuff on there.

I've been waiting 3 months for a d
Age of darkness box set, it's not been delivered and they don't seem to care into getting it to me. Royal Mail have the package back to them and I've asked for a refund in which they're not responding to me now, really need to buck up there ideas to customer service because I'm going to take legal action soon, shop else way for the extra £5

I've never had an issue with them and used them to preorder games workshop items a few times. Very good prices too, but shipping fees are unusually expensive.

Tried multiple orders with these guys over the course of the last year or 2 because of their truly competitive online prices. Unfortunately, there have been issues practically every time.

Whether it be refusal to break down orders with pre-order items in without charging additional postage, cancellation of pre-ordered items (mere days before release) or the sending of damaged items, the customer service has always been unhelpful and indifferent.

Would highly recommend using another online FLGS.

I ordered a set of 40k models online, some of which were near the end of production deadline and another of which promptly went out of stock while GW re-packaged. My query about this was resolved quickly and Dark Sphere kept me posted about the delays and when delivery was expected. Would happily use again

Great service and very good prices on Warhammer models. Been using them for about a year now and never had any issues

Don't go to the store if you like browsing.

Every item is behind a barrier like you're in a pharmacy, so you can't approach anything.

Why even have a store?
Buy from wayland games instead since the purpose of a physical store has been ruined... better stock, better prices.

unhelpful staff, make sure you keep your receipts as unable to return my item despite in complete working order unopened

I've ordered from Dark Sphere online a number of times, mostly 40k but also a couple of board games, they have great prices and customer service and always deliver promptly.