Woodworkers Guild of America - Value ??

I am wondering if any other Lumberjocks members have experience with or advice about Wood Workers Guild of America, regarding its value to us who like to work with our hands, by viewing or purchasing their videos? My initial experience as one of their new members, leaves me scratching my head.

I bought a membership with high expectations for great coaching and tutorials. HOWEVER, I did not expect to get BOMBARDED with daily solicitations, through email, trying to get me to "up the ante" by subscribing to the next level. They dangle a "higher in the air carrot" by teasing with all sorts of video topics to view, BUT, you have to have a "Premium" membership to view them. OK, granted… I'm alright with their business model once I realized that is how they play their "game" (after all, aren't we all in the business of making money, to support our families and our desires?).

However, in their defense, let me say that their knowledge, skill sets, and instruction seem to be of value, so nothing against what they can deliver, to expand your capabilities. I expected to join, as a mid level DIY'er to refer to, on occasion, for helpful tips. But 90% of their videos are Premium only or above subscriptions to be able to view. OK. I got that…that's their business model.

Subsequent to joining on a promotional first year basic plan, I went to their website to see what I could discover for improvement, and found that most of the basics are just that…basics. If you use any power tools for woodworking for longer than a year, then you already know or can figure out most of this stuff on your own. So I was disappointed in the "free offerings". But then I discovered after joining, that their offer of several free downloads for joining, were totally useless because they were indicated to be ".mov" file extension videos, which should open automatically, if you are on a PC with Microsoft. I downloaded my first of four selections which took several hours (I have a robust PC and very fast internet pipeline). AND the file size was 1.6 gig. Do the math. If you have a typical PC that is 2-3 years or newer, you likely have a 500 gig to 1 terabyte hard drive. It would not take long for their downloads to choke your system.

Now here is where things seemed to go "south". After I downloaded the first of my 4 free offerings, My WIndows 8.1 PC could not open or read the file, due to "unknown file extension…would you like to search the internet for a program that can open your file?....heck no. Really??? Not a ".mov" file at all.

So, after a couple weeks of daily emails from them, trying to entice me to the next level of membership, I am getting to the point that I could care less if I ever viewed another "tip" from them. I will happily keep trucking on with "Wood Magazine's" daily emails, because they offer something of value without holding their hand out. I unsubscribed from WWGOA several days ago and am curious to see how long they keep bombarding me. I contemplated upgrading my membership when I first joined on the promotional level, but thought I would wait and see how much value it might bring, through my first year, before renewal comes up.

Any advice from you all, regarding your experiences and if I should stick it out for better things to come??