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Wood Magazine's Woodworkers Guild

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:54 pm
by Ed in Tampa
Has anyone looked into the Woodworkers Guild Wood Magazine has been pushing lately?

I got an e mail to join, they say they are going to have video, instructional videos, e newletters, articles and discounts and things.
Here is their ad blurb
EVERY MONTH

A minimum of 4 FREE video tips and techniques clips
6 PREMIUM videos
An all-new woodworking project
A complete new woodworking class
…and BONUS videos throughout the year.
PLUS… you’ll pick up member-only shop-tested skills tips and techniques as well as :
Access to a library of professional woodworking plans – free for members!
15% discount every time you shop at the Wood Store!
A $10 Off coupon for ANY Wood Store purchase that you can use immediately!

They offer a membership for $29.99 per year but I have seen it discounted for Wood Magazine subscribers.

Anyone bite on this? What do you think so far?

is it WoodWorkers Guild of America?

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 5:23 pm
by forrestb
If so, it is run by George Vondriska(?) who has some good techniques, but he also touted a method to check bandsaw squareness that was just flat wrong - so beware. If you are an accomplished woodworker you may not benefit much.

It is kind of like the old Columbia Record Club where they send you a record every month and if you don't want it you have to send it back or pay for it. I was there for a while and seem to recall the videos were about $28, but soon canceled it all.

Forrest

Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 6:56 pm
by benush26
If they've been in my in box I've ignored them. I did get the WWGOA video subscription for a year. It has some interesting things for $12 (recently saw it for $10). Not thrilled with their "benefit" of automatic renewal, though they say I can easily opt out. BIG pet peeve is those companies that force you to automatically renew unless you jump through the hoops to opt out. My opinion is they are just plain greedy. For my benefit, my a**! Oops, sorry:o

Not thrilled with George as an expert nor teacher. He often uses cheap products, when better results are very little more in cost.

However, he is much easier to listen to than many other "experts" on the net. Not certain that another magazine is needed in the marketplace.:rolleyes:

Be well,
Ben

Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:30 am
by eartigas
I got the subscription for 10 bucks. I am still looking around for interesting videos. I like the guy's style but unless I find some real value, even for $10 I won't renew. Can't really say yet what will I do.

I used to get the DVDs that were over priced and I stopped after a few. Now they sent me some more again (after a year or so of cancelling) for half price, same story, look and return if you don't like. I returned them for two reasons, I hate unsolicited email and the videos were too basic and even silly.

Ed

Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 9:37 am
by bffulgham
A couple of years ago a WWGOA DVD showed up in my mailbox..... "Essential Woodworking Techniques"
I had NOT ordered it. It was one of the ploys of "We're gonna send you this DVD, let you look at it for free, and then send you a bill in 30 days; then nag you forever".
1. I was not impressed with the information presented on the DVD. Extremely basic stuff.
2. The price was unrealistically high.
3. The marketing technique REALLY P***ED me off. (Had the same approach from a defensive handgun school previously)

I personally would rather do an online subscription to the stuff Fine Woodworking Magazine does. Or, if I found a class or series of classes that Popular Woodworking offers, I'd do a short term subscription to take the online classes.

Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:47 pm
by tomp
You are all obviously more advanced at ww than I am. I have never taken a woodworking class, and I find George Vondriska to be a great teacher.
I joined wwgoa before they offered all of those money saving deals over the holidays, but my deal did include 7 DVD's called "Great Shop Tips." I have watched 4 of the 7, and have learned quite a bit.
I have watched several of George's online videos for members, and think they are good, too.
Too early to see if I will be a member in subsequent years, but I find it all worthwhile so far.

Tom in Helena, Montana

Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 7:55 pm
by reible
I got the same sort of thing from them. I wrote scam all over the disk I returned as well as the form they sent. Used there envelop to return it to them. I'm not sure if it even legal to operate that way but to be sure it did not strike me as a good starting point.

Need less to say they will never get any business from me.

Ed



[quote="bffulgham"]A couple of years ago a WWGOA DVD showed up in my mailbox..... "Essential Woodworking Techniques"
I had NOT ordered it. It was one of the ploys of "We're gonna send you this DVD, let you look at it for free, and then send you a bill in 30 days]

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 8:05 am
by reddog5362
Same thing going on here. I think I'm on my 4th or 5th "late" notice asking me to send money or mail the dvd back. Guess i should go crawl around in the landfill and find it huh? :rolleyes:


[quote="bffulgham"]A couple of years ago a WWGOA DVD showed up in my mailbox..... "Essential Woodworking Techniques"
I had NOT ordered it. It was one of the ploys of "We're gonna send you this DVD, let you look at it for free, and then send you a bill in 30 days]

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:38 am
by Ed in Tampa
reddog5362 wrote:Same thing going on here. I think I'm on my 4th or 5th "late" notice asking me to send money or mail the dvd back. Guess i should go crawl around in the landfill and find it huh? :rolleyes:

Fear not I got caught up years and years ago in Columbia record club. I got my 12 free albums I bought the required 6 and they kept sending me more.
I asked the postman about it and he said I had no legal requirement to the company after I bought the agreed to 6. He told me to write them and tell them they could have albums back if they sent a prepaid return box for them. They continued to threaten me but never did anything. Postman told me to watch my credit rating if they messed with it I could own them. They never did but they did threaten a lot of things. Then one day they wrote me and told me that wanted nothing more to do with me. I laid in bed for weeks crying over that. :D

Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 12:48 pm
by JPG
Ed in Tampa wrote:Fear not I got caught up years and years ago in Columbia record club. I got my 12 free albums I bought the required 6 and they kept sending me more.
I asked the postman about it and he said I had no legal requirement to the company after I bought the agreed to 6. He told me to write them and tell them they could have albums back if they sent a prepaid return box for them. They continued to threaten me but never did anything. Postman told me to watch my credit rating if they messed with it I could own them. They never did but they did threaten a lot of things. Then one day they wrote me and told me that wanted nothing more to do with me. I laid in bed for weeks crying over that. :D
Are ya sure you are completely over it?:D:D:D