Woodworkers Guild of America

[George Bokros]

Is anyone a member? Your thoughts, opinion?

Thanks

[Gary Petersen]

I've been a member for a bit over two years now and have gotten well more than my money's worth out of the membership. They have a ton of video instruction content and post new content frequently. They offer a number of paid classes on specific topics which are well-organized and well-produced videos.

Your first three years as a member there can come at a quite low cost. I started as a regular member then was presented with offers for their Gold membership level. Each was less than $20 per year. Once I was at the Gold Level, they introduced a new Platinum level, which i subscribed to near the end of my Gold membership for another $15 or so. Each tier of membership brought additional benefits, in terms of downloadable video content and project plans and access to live events. George Vondriska, a senior editor and the most prominent face of WWGOA, hosts a free live event the second Tuesday evening of each month where he fields questions from viewers. They also have live events on specific topics - the most recent of which is a series on using your bandsaw. Video content is archived for later viewing if you aren't able to catch it live.

I've been able to send questions which they've answered as another benefit.

I very much like the instruction there and plan to remain a member once my current Platinum subscription expires sometime next year. I recommend them highly.

[George Bokros]

Thanks Gary. I have been offered a Gold Membership upgrade for $3.00. Guess I will grab it.

[Ronald Blue]

Just a word of caution here. I was a member for a few years and in November I was reviewing my credit card statement and there was a $350 charge that I didn't know what it was. My "Platinum" membership just went full rate. I got it stopped and refunded. I was just in shock by this. If you get that much benefit from it then by all means sign up. I just don't get that much benefit from it.

[George Bokros]

I detest those automatic renewals! The only one I tolerate is from Norton for my anti virus software.

Thanks for the cautionary advice.

[Brian Tymchak]

I've read that Woodworkers Guild is one of those questionable businesses that send you a bunch of unsolicited products along with a bill.

[Jim Becker]

There have been a number of discussions over the years about organizations like this. The bottom line I've taken from them is that if you take value from the membership and enjoy the particular benefits you get for the price you pay, go for it, BUT...be very careful about what's just been warned about here. Costs change "in the background" and can sneak up on you, especially if you opt for or are required to have auto-renewal. Pretty much all of these organizations, whether for woodworking or any other thing out there (they exist in nearly all types of activity focuses that people get involved in) these are for-profit businesses that specifically leverage our emotions and interests to create cash flow. Their end goal is to provide just enough perceived value that they can maximize their profit from each (level of) subscription...which is no different than any other business, honestly, but still...the buyer has to decide if it's worth it or not to them. These organizations also get substantial revenue from selling information. No surprise there, either. For me...there's zero appeal here. Then again, I don't even subscribe to magazines anymore...

[kent borcherding]

I also cancelled my membership - for various reasons

[Frederick Skelly]

I ran a google search for reviews on them. A facebook page came up that had about half-and-half, love/hate. LINK

"Toolguyd" tells of their experience, being asked to pay for an unsolicited DVD they did not want. LINK. I dont know what to make of that.

[Stephen Rosenthal]

As others have commented to each his/her own, but there is nothing about woodworking that I can’t learn from books borrowed from the library, the Internet, YouTube videos, personal experience/practice, colleagues and fellow Creekers. What’s the common thread? Free. Well, not counting the $6.00 contributor fee to the Creek, but that’s probably the best $6.00 I’ll spend all year.

[Kris Cook]

I signed up and was then bombarded with offers to upgrade. I deleted the membership because of how annoying the emails were. Maybe I didn't give them a fair shake but I cant stand getting email after unsolicited email from anywhere.

[Gary Petersen]

The first thing I did after upgrading to each different level was to request that auto-renewal be turned off for my account. I recall their noting the auto renewal and offering a way to disable it in the upgrade. I have kept the confirmation email for that as well.

I've not had any problem with anything unsolicited being sent to me, with our without a demand for payment.

There were a lot of upgrade offer emails, though. Those have stopped since I got to the highest level, but I do still get a few "buy this DVD" offers a week. Not enough to be bothersome to me.

[al heitz]

Just curious....what does it cost to be at the highest level?

[Gary Petersen]

The initial, first-year cost was less than $20. I think I paid $17 but got offers for Platinum level at between $17 and $25 per month all the time while I was a Gold Member. The renewal cost is much higher, someone in this thread posted it a $350. I've not hit my renewal date yet and won't renew at that cost.

[Earl McLain]

As others have commented to each his/her own, but there is nothing about woodworking that I can’t learn from books borrowed from the library, the Internet, YouTube videos, personal experience/practice, colleagues and fellow Creekers. What’s the common thread? Free. Well, not counting the $6.00 contributor fee to the Creek, but that’s probably the best $6.00 I’ll spend all year.

SMC is a good enough value that i typically round up to $10. Seems like last time i renewed, i had just saved a bunch of time or money on a tip here--so i may have done $20 or so? One of my best investments.
earl