What's Bigger Pocket's view on IG Gurus like Thach and Jake....

[Mario Casarez]

So I'm sure most of us have an instagram (or FB) account and have come across coaches like Thach Nguyen and Jake Leicht showing how they used real estate methods (flipping, brrrrr, etc) to make loads of money and promising to show you all their tricks if you just pay them $5000+ for their content. 

I have listened in on their free consultations just to get an idea of what they offer and what I discovered is that they teach the same things found in books you can find on Amazon written by Brandon Turner or J Scott.  Books we can get for under $20 each.  HOWEVER, what they do offer that can't be found within the books, is a network of like-minded people all in one place.  Although a book can't offer that live-networking aspect, i feel Bigger Pockets offers that.

So my question is, what is the sentiment around here on paying $5K+ to avoid having to search for all your networking needs.  Would the $5k+ be considered an investment on yourself?  Or is that considered a waste of money when you can have it all for less (or free?) here on Bigger Pockets?  Is this a case of "you get what you pay for?" or are those just "get rich quick money scams"?

Thank you,

Mario