A membership can sell belonging while charging extra for participation.

Some memberships sell the feeling of being inside and then charge for everything that happens there. The fee buys the badge and the access, and the actual activities, the events, the equipment, the good seats, are priced separately. Belonging is the product and participation is an upsell.

Before joining anything, ask what the fee actually includes and what you would spend to use it as you intend. If most of the value is the affiliation itself, that is worth knowing plainly. It may still be worth it, and you should know what you are buying.