Joining a Membership

If your makerspace offers paid memberships, you can join one yourself from the Membership page in your member area — no waiting for an admin to grant you access. This guide walks through what you’ll see at each step and what to expect after you complete payment.

Tip

If you already have an active membership, the Membership page shows your current plan and billing details instead of the tier browser. To change plans, use the Upgrade or Cancel options on your active membership card.

Before You Start

You’ll need:

• A MakerVera account at the makerspace whose membership you’re joining (sign up or accept your invitation first).
• A payment method — credit / debit card, or any other method your makerspace’s payment provider supports.
• A few minutes — most signups complete in under five minutes including the time on the payment screen.

Step 1 — Browse Available Tiers

1. Sign in to your makerspace and open the Membership page from the sidebar.
2. If you don’t have an active membership, you’ll see a grid of every tier your makerspace currently offers. Each card shows:
   • The tier name and price (monthly, and annual if your makerspace offers an annual option).
   • Benefits included — booking discounts, advance-booking windows, member-only access, and any custom benefits the makerspace has configured.
   • An “Annual savings” badge if paying yearly is meaningfully cheaper than monthly × 12.
   • Add-ons associated with the tier (when any apply) — small chips listing add-ons that are required with this tier or included at no extra cost. Optional add-ons you can buy alongside the tier are not shown on the card; you’ll see those during your makerspace’s add-on flow.
   • If an add-on isn’t currently available, its chip is greyed out and carries a short reason:
     • No longer offered — the makerspace has retired the product (archived). It won’t return.
     • Temporarily unavailable — the makerspace has paused the product (suspended). It may come back later.
     • Unavailable — a catch-all you’ll only see for newer reasons (for example, an add-on whose stock has run out once that feature ships). The Choose Plan button is disabled on any tier whose required add-on shows one of these labels; tiers whose only unavailable add-ons are optional remain selectable, and the optional add-on is simply omitted from your order.
3. Compare tiers and pick the one that fits how you’ll use the space.
4. Click Choose Plan on the tier you want.

No tiers showing?

If the page is empty, your makerspace hasn’t published any active membership tiers yet. Reach out to the makerspace admin — they may be setting things up or operating on an invitation-only model.

Step 2 — Confirm Your Plan & Billing Interval

The checkout page shows:

• A summary of the tier you picked (benefits, price).
• A Monthly / Annual selector — the annual option is only enabled if your makerspace published an annual price for this tier.
• An optional Cover processing fees toggle. Checking it adds the payment-processing fee on top of your price so your makerspace receives the full membership amount; leaving it unchecked deducts the fee from what the makerspace receives.

Review the summary, choose the interval that works for you, and click Subscribe to continue.

Picked the wrong tier?

Use your browser’s back button to return to the tier browser and choose a different one. The checkout page doesn’t change anything until you actually complete payment.

Step 3 — Pay on the Secure Payment Page

Clicking Subscribe sends you to the secure payment page hosted by your makerspace’s payment provider (Stripe, in most cases). Enter your card details and confirm.

If you change your mind at the payment screen, just close the tab or click your provider’s back / cancel link — nothing has been charged yet, and no membership has been created. You can return to the Membership page anytime to pick a different tier.

Step 4 — Activation

After you complete payment, you’re returned to MakerVera on a confirmation page that briefly says “finalising your membership” while we wait for the payment provider to confirm the charge. This usually takes a second or two.

Once activation completes, MakerVera automatically takes you back to the Membership page, which now shows your active membership card — your tier, billing interval, next renewal date, and the same benefits you picked from on Step 1.

You’ll also receive a welcome email with your membership details. This email is part of the makerspace’s transactional notifications and is sent on every activation.

Confirmation page still spinning?

On rare occasions the payment provider’s notification to MakerVera is delayed. If the confirmation page is still loading after about 15 seconds, it switches to a “still processing — we’ll email you when ready” state. Your payment did go through; the welcome email will arrive once activation completes (usually within a few minutes). You can safely close the tab.

Common Questions

Can I change my mind after I sign up?

Yes. From your active membership card you can cancel anytime (effective at the end of your current billing cycle, unless your makerspace has configured a different policy). Refund policy is set by the makerspace — check with them or your makerspace’s terms before signing up.

What happens if a tier fills up while I’m at the payment page?

Some tiers have a member cap. If the cap fills up while you’re at the payment page, your subscription is refused and you’ll see a message back on MakerVera explaining why. Nothing is charged. You can pick a different tier from the browse page.

I see toggles in my notification preferences that won’t turn off — why?

Some notifications — like your membership activation welcome email and other transactional confirmations — are configured as required by the makerspace. You can’t opt out of them, but you also won’t see “ghost” toggles that look optional but don’t do anything. If a toggle is greyed out, it’s a required notification and the dispatcher will always send it.

Can I sign up without an account?

No. Membership signup requires that you’re signed in to your makerspace first. If you’re visiting /membership without an account, you’ll be redirected to the login page and brought back to the tier browser once you sign in.

Related Guides

• Membership Tiers — how membership tiers relate to roles and what benefits they unlock.
• Member-Initiated Pause — if your makerspace allows it, you can pause your membership later from the same Membership page.
• Cover Fees — more on the cover-fees toggle you saw at checkout.
• Notifications — the welcome email and other transactional messages around your membership.