If you’re new to woodworking, you’ve undoubtedly viewed practically every YouTube lesson video there is. You’ve picked up on some things, but you wish you could learn more. A fellow woodworking pal advised going into the Woodworkers Guild of America, a paid professional resource. Is joining this guild worth the money?
If you want to improve your woodworking abilities, but can’t find any quality online materials, consider joining the Woodworkers Guild of America. The annual fee of a Premium membership is $55, while a Gold membership costs $129.
For individuals who are dedicated to developing their woodworking skills, joining the Woodworkers Guild of America may be beneficial because to the abundance of professional resources and educational opportunities available to them. Yet, many have complained that it’s tough to get out of the contract once they’ve signed it.
Keep reading if you are still on the fence about whether woodworking organization is better for you: the Woodworkers Guild of America or the World Woodworking Guild of America. I will cover the company’s background, the services it offers, and further price information in this piece. Before you finish this article, you’ll know if the WWGOA is truly worth the cost.

What Is the Woodworkers Guild of America?
Anyone interested in woodworking, whether as a pastime or as a means of making a job, are encouraged to join the Woodworkers Guild of America (WWGOA), a professional organization.
There is a wealth of information at your disposal through the WWGOA. Just astounding.
The next section will go into greater detail on this topic, but for now, just know that their content is substantial.
All right, but what makes you think you can rely on the WWGOA’s claims? The instructors and videographers aren’t amateurs; they’re all experienced woodworkers who work with them.
However, I’m not a huge fan of WWGOA’s online presence. If you click the link above and go to their website, you will see that there is no “about” page. It was impossible to get anywhere on their site by using the Browse tab.
Below is the scrap of information I managed to gather regarding the WWGOA. They operate out of Minnesota.
“At WoodWorkers Guild of America (WWGOA), we recognize that woodworking is more than a hobby for you – it’s a lifestyle,” the group said on Facebook. We hope you’ll consider us your go-to resource for satisfying that hunger for knowledge, creativity, and camaraderie among fellow woodworkers.
Is Woodworkers Guild Of America Free?
Joining the Woodworkers Guild of America doesn’t cost anything, but there are no free membership tiers. If you want to join, you’ll have to decide between two different membership tiers.
How Much Does It Cost to be a Member of the Woodworkers Guild of America?
Priced at $129 annually, the Gold Membership is twice as much as the Premium Membership at $55. Monthly payments for the Premium membership are available at $6, whereas there are no such payments required for Gold members.
I was unable to determine when exactly they offered membership discounts, although I know they do it sometimes. It appears to be at random, so here’s hoping.
I have also put up a list of other amazing Woodworking resources here that surely helped me out.
What Resources Can I Use If I Join the Woodworkers Guild of America?
Being as there is no free membership option, what do you get for your membership fee to the WWGOA? As promised, I will now discuss the many benefits WWGOA membership provides.
Premium Videos
In-depth videos on woodworking principles and methods were recorded by WWGOA in collaboration with industry heavyweights. You may also see how things are done in the woodworking world, from the ground up. A total of over a hundred hours of material is available for your use.
Video Downloads
Several of the videos on WWGOA may be downloaded in their entirety if you enjoy seeing them and would like to view them again without visiting the site. It’s important to qualify that with “some,” though, because WWGOA is selective about the videos it allows users to download. Your video download limit is set at a maximum of eight and a bare minimum of two.
We can’t just let you pick two or eight random videos, sorry. You won’t have to do any work to pick them out because they’ve already been chosen. That’s why WWGOA is so particular, I told you!

Woodworking Plans
One of the best things about belonging to the WWGOA is access to their extensive library of woodworking plans. View plans and projects online and save the ones you like to review later. There are from two and eight woodworking videos, and the same amount of downloadable blueprints.
Newsletter
One of WWGOA’s few free options, this is a must-have. Enter your email address on their website, and you will automatically begin receiving their newsletter. But, if you expect to get access to the vast majority of the newsletter’s content and tools without having to pay, you’ll be sorely disappointed.
WWGOA Academy Classes
You may count on learning something new about woodworking from the advanced courses offered by the WWGOA Academy. Just three of these courses are available, but WWGOA estimates their worth to be $120. You, as a paying member, would have access to an interactive Q&A session with the course teacher and additional resources.
The courses they provide are detailed below.
WWGOA Academy Mini-Classes
Classes at WWGOA Academy are recorded, while mini-classes are held in real time. Attend a Livestream where experts in the field of woodworking share their skills with eager students. Just like in a traditional classroom, you may post a question and receive an immediate answer.
Ask the Expert
Is your newest woodworking project leaving you at a loss for what to do next? That’s not a huge deal. With the help of Ask the Expert, you may get in touch with a seasoned expert who can show you the way forward on your current endeavor.
To get entry to the Ask the Expert service, register on this page.
Woodworking Articles
Also, WWGOA claims that there are hundreds of articles written by industry professionals that are available to you. These articles’ guidance and plans will provide you with a wealth of exciting woodworking projects to keep you occupied for a very long time.
What Do I Get For My Membership?
Here’s the content you get per plan.
Premium Membership
Being on the Premium plan means you’ll miss out on some features and benefits or receive a reduced amount of them because it’s the inferior of the two options. Please allow me to demonstrate.
If you pay yearly instead of monthly, you get access two downloads.
Again, if you pay yearly, you can get two video downloads for half price.
Publication every week covering the entire collection of woodworking blueprints and projects
All high-quality videos
Contrary to What the Experts Say
Courses at the WWGOA Academy are currently suspended.
The WWGOA Academy will not be offering any of its shorter courses at this time.
Gold Membership
When you pay the additional $50 or more for Gold membership, you gain access to all of WWGOA’s features. That encompasses the following:
Do Not Hesitate to Consult the Professional
Four Training Sessions at the WWGOA Academy
Three Courses at the WWGOA Academy
7 DIY Woodworking Projects
There are eight videos totaling a minimum of 75 minutes each.
Receive a discount of 20% off all non-video items in the WWGOA store
All WWGOA Academy Courses are 20% Off!
Downloadable blueprints at a 20% discount
Take 60% off all digital video purchases
The Weekly Newsletter for All Your Woodworking Projects and Plans
All high-quality videos
The WWGOA Academy short courses are worth $15 per session, the organization claims. Woodworking plans are $7 each, WWGOA Academy courses are $40, and full-length video downloads are $17.
The organization of course recommends that you choose the Gold plan. With “ongoing savings, and benefits exclusive to GOLD Membership,” WWGOA claims your Gold membership is worth more than $370.
How Do I Join the Woodworkers Guild of America?
Is membership in the WWGOA something you’re considering? Just go to their website right here to get started. Easy access to the “Become a Member” button ensures that it appears above the fold in the homepage’s main area. Store is also accessible from the homepage’s navigation bar.
As someone who has spent a fair amount of time researching on the WWGOA website, I can say that pretty much any link you click will get you to the membership page.
As soon as you decide between the Premium and Gold plans, you’ll be prompted to enter your billing information. This includes your complete name, nation, home address, state, zip code, phone number, email address, and account password.
Now is the moment to make up your mind about whether or not you wish to subscribe to the WWGOA newsletter. If not, deselect the “Communication Preferences” option.
Last but not least, complete your order by entering your payment information. While WWGOA does take credit cards, they do not accept the more current payment options like Venmo, PayPal, or Apple Pay.
After you’re finished, click the red “Complete Order” button. Watch for the email confirming your order. If this is the case, then please accept my sincere congratulations on becoming a full-fledged member of the WWGOA.
How Do I Unsubscribe from the Woodworkers Guild of America?
The WWGOA’s frequently asked questions page is buried deep within the site, but it does a good job of explaining how to cancel your membership. Yet, WWGOA’s refund policy isn’t one you’re certain to adore.
Contact WWGOA during the first 30 days of membership if you are unhappy with the service and want a complete refund. But, this is only relevant if you opted for the Premium yearly subscription. Gold members never have to worry about this happening, since their subscriptions renew automatically every year.
To discontinue your membership, please contact either [email protected] or 1-855-253-0822.
If you’ve been a member of WWGOA for more than 30 days but still aren’t feeling it, what should you do? Then, WWGOA promises they “will return your membership cost on a pro-rated basis.” Again, this is only relevant if you have a paid annual subscription. There is no return policy for monthly premium subscribers.
You might not mind losing $6 if you just paid for one month of the WWGOA and then realized it wasn’t for you, but what if you paid for four or five months and then changed your mind? You’d have paid more than half the yearly membership fee by the fifth month ($30) but you wouldn’t get a refund.
What Does Pro-Rated Basis Mean?
If you terminate your Premium membership after 40 days, you will receive a refund of just $48.97. If you ask for a refund after that, they won’t give you the whole $55.
My interpretation of their meaning leads me to this conclusion. It’s possible that this will be different for each individual.
Several users have complained on Facebook that it is not as simple to cancel as it is on the WWGOA website. A consumer complained that they had tried contacting the company through phone and email but had received no response. In the obvious case that you are unable to contact WWGOA’s customer care, you will be unable to terminate your membership. This implies that you’d have to keep making payments even if you decided to stop doing so voluntarily.
How Do I Cancel WWGOA Membership?
In order to terminate your membership, please contact [email protected] or dial 1-855-253-0822.
If you cancel your yearly subscription during the first 30 days, you will get a full refund of your payment. The cancellation fee is prorated after the initial 30 days. Payments for Monthly Memberships are non-refundable.
Is the Woodworkers Guild of America Worth It?
As an honest reviewer, I can say that the $55 Premium Membership and $129 Gold Membership are well worth the money. I have faith that you will get useful knowledge from their memberships and that you will be able to cancel your subscription at any time after the first year if you so desire.
There is no denying that the WWGOA is trying to extract as much money out of you as possible, and one way they do so is by having a more lucrative Gold membership tier than the Premium one. And if everything runs well, the cost-benefit ratio is rather good. Video guides and tutorials created by professionals are available to you. See master craftspeople at work in real time with the help of the internet. And where else might you possibly have the chance to achieve anything like that?
From what I’ve read, Premium members are inundated with requests to upgrade to Gold status. One Lumberjocks user complains that the downloadable video files didn’t play and that they never heard back from anyone after trying to get in touch with them. Well, that does sound like a pattern developing. The possibility exists that this is an outlier.
Yet if you pay for Premium every month, you always wind up on the losing end. If you terminate your WWGOA membership, you will not receive a refund, and you will be excluded from future specials and discounts. To say the least, that gives me pause.
Conclusion
Learn from experienced woodworkers and gain access to a wealth of useful materials by joining the Woodworkers Guild of America (WWGOA). There isn’t much of a price difference between the Premium and Gold subscriptions, but the Gold plan is a better value overall.
There is no denying that the WWGOA has certain negative aspects. Several users have claimed that they can’t terminate their subscription because they haven’t heard back from WWGOA, while others have noted that video files sometimes don’t play.
Despite its shortcomings, the WWGOA is a great resource for anybody who has exhausted their options with YouTube lessons and woodworking periodicals but still feels like they may benefit from additional direction and teaching.