Frequently Asked Questions
Honest answers to the questions every guitar buyer asks before placing their first entry. If you don't see your question answered below, email us at hello@greatguitargiveaway.com.
How does Great Guitar Giveaway actually work?
Each guitar we list is its own draw with its own pool of entries. You browse the active draws, pick the guitar you want, choose how many entries to place, complete the entry form, and pay (or enter for free by mail — see below). When the draw closes, one entry is drawn at random from the full pool. The winner is verified, photographed with the guitar, and the instrument is shipped fully insured to their door.
Can I really enter for free?
Yes. Every draw on the site has a no-purchase-necessary entry path required by law. Hand-print your name, address, email, date of birth, daytime phone number, and the draw number on a 3" × 5" card and mail it to the address listed in our Official Rules. Each free entry carries the exact same weight as a paid entry — the random draw doesn't distinguish between them. You can submit unlimited free entries, one per envelope, postmarked before the draw closes.
How are the odds calculated?
Each draw has a fixed total pool of entries, published on that draw's product page. Your odds are simply the number of entries you hold divided by the total pool. If a draw has a 5,000-entry pool and you placed 25 entries, your odds are 1 in 200. We don't add entries to the pool after the draw is listed and we don't oversell — when the pool is full, the draw closes early.
How is the winner actually picked?
After a draw closes, every eligible entry — paid and free — is loaded into a randomization process that gives every entry an equal chance of being selected. We document the selection process and verify the winner's eligibility before announcing them. The drawing happens within seven business days of the draw closing.
How do I know the draws are legitimate?
A few ways to check. Every winner appears on our Past Winners page with their first name, location, the guitar they won, and a photograph holding it. We've been covered by Guitar World, Creative Bloq, iMore, and Ultimate Guitar — those publications independently vetted the platform before writing about it. We publish the full Official Rules for every draw, name our company (Great Guitar Giveaway Inc.) and post our mailing address. If something feels off, email us before entering.
What happens if I win?
You'll receive an email at the address you entered with, within seven business days of the draw closing. You'll need to respond within five business days, complete an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability Release, and provide a valid taxpayer identification number for tax reporting. After verification, we ship the guitar fully insured to the address on your entry, photograph the handover (if you opt in), and feature you on the Past Winners page.
Do I have to pay taxes on the guitar?
In short: yes, in most cases. The IRS treats sweepstakes winnings as taxable income. For prizes with a retail value of $600 or more — which includes every guitar we give away — we're required to issue you a Form 1099-MISC reporting the prize value, and you're responsible for federal, state, and local income tax on that amount. We strongly recommend speaking with a tax professional before entering high-value draws if this is a concern. We can't provide tax advice.
Is there a limit to how many entries I can place?
You can place as many paid entries as you want per draw, up to the published pool size. So if a draw has 5,000 total entries and you wanted to buy 5,000, technically you could (it would be a bad financial decision, but it's allowed). For free mail-in entries: one per envelope, but no limit on the number of envelopes you can mail in.
What if a draw doesn't sell out — does it still happen?
Yes. The draw runs whether or not the pool is full. We pick the winner from the entries that exist at close. We never extend a draw's deadline to "fill the pool" and we never add filler entries. If you placed entries in a draw that closes 25% full, your odds are simply better than they would have been at full capacity.
Can I cancel an entry after placing it?
Entries are final once payment is processed. We don't issue refunds for paid entries except in the rare case where we cancel a draw before the drawing — in which case all paid entrants are refunded within 30 days.
How do you handle my personal information?
The information you submit during entry — name, email, address, date of birth — is used only for entry processing, eligibility verification, prize delivery, and tax reporting if you win. We don't sell email addresses. We don't share your information with marketing partners. Full details are in our Privacy Policy.
What if I'm not in the US?
Currently the sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the fifty US states and the District of Columbia, age 18+. We don't ship internationally and we can't accept international entries. We're working on expanding to Canada and the UK but don't have a timeline yet.
Can I enter on behalf of someone else, like as a gift?
You can enter under your own name and, if you win, gift the guitar to whoever you want — the prize is yours once the verification is complete. But you cannot enter using someone else's identity, name, or contact info. The entry has to be in the name of the actual person who'll be verified if it wins.
What happens to the guitar between the draw closing and the winner getting it?
The guitar lives in our climate-controlled storage from the moment it's listed for a draw until the moment it ships. We don't play it, don't loan it out, don't use it for marketing photos beyond the listing photos. The shipping to the winner is fully insured. If anything happens in transit — which has happened exactly zero times to date, but the insurance is real — we replace or refund per the carrier's claim process.
How long has Great Guitar Giveaway been running?
We've been running curated guitar draws since [year]. Our Past Winners page shows every guitar we've awarded along with the date of each draw. As of the most recent update, we've given away 247 guitars to winners across 38 US states.
Why guitars specifically?
Because the founder's a guitar player, and because the sweepstakes industry is full of generic "win an iPhone" platforms run by people who don't care about the prize. We curate every guitar — vintage, custom, signature, or artist series. Each one is a guitar we'd want to own ourselves. That's our filter, and it's the reason serious players and collectors trust the platform.
I have a guitar I think you should give away. Can I nominate it?
Yes. Use the Nominate a Guitar form. We review every nomination — luthiers, dealers, individual collectors, all welcome. We pay fair market value for instruments we accept into the lineup.
Is this a scam?
No. But we know that's exactly what a scam would say. The strongest answer we can give: read the Official Rules, scroll through the Past Winners page, look up the press coverage, email us at hello@greatguitargiveaway.com with any specific concern, and decide for yourself before placing an entry.
Notes for you on the FAQ:
- Tone is intentionally direct and a bit blunt. The "Is this a scam?" question included on purpose — answering it head-on builds more trust than pretending nobody asks. Read it once and decide if it fits your brand voice; if it feels off-brand, cut that question.
- The "[year]" placeholder near the end needs the real year you started.
- The "247 guitars / 38 states" number matches what's currently in the past winners gallery embed. Update if the actual number differs at launch.
- The international section — adjust if you actually have a Canada or UK timeline.