diff --git a/R/type-rcrd.R b/R/type-rcrd.R
index e62775b8f..c45728549 100644
--- a/R/type-rcrd.R
+++ b/R/type-rcrd.R
@@ -7,11 +7,12 @@
 #' classes that can naturally be decomposed into multiple vectors of the same
 #' length, like [POSIXlt], but where the organisation should be considered
 #' an implementation detail invisible to the user (unlike a [data.frame]).
-#' 
+#'
 #' @details
-#' Record-style objects created with [new_rcrd()] do not have a default
-#' [format()] method. See [Record-style objects](https://vctrs.r-lib.org/articles/s3-vector.html?q=record#record-style-objects
-#' for more details on implementing other methods.
+#' Record-style objects created with [new_rcrd()] do not do much on their own.
+#' For instance they do not have a default [format()] method, which means printing
+#' the object causes an error. See [Record-style objects](https://vctrs.r-lib.org/articles/s3-vector.html?q=record#record-style-objects
+#' for details on implementing methods for record vectors.
 #'
 #' @param fields A list or a data frame. Lists must be rectangular
 #'   (same sizes), and contain uniquely named vectors (at least
diff --git a/man/new_rcrd.Rd b/man/new_rcrd.Rd
index 62f1b3238..05705629d 100644
--- a/man/new_rcrd.Rd
+++ b/man/new_rcrd.Rd
@@ -25,4 +25,10 @@ classes that can naturally be decomposed into multiple vectors of the same
 length, like \link{POSIXlt}, but where the organisation should be considered
 an implementation detail invisible to the user (unlike a \link{data.frame}).
 }
+\details{
+Record-style objects created with \code{\link[=new_rcrd]{new_rcrd()}} do not do much on their own.
+For instance they do not have a default \code{\link[=format]{format()}} method, which means printing
+the object causes an error. See \link{Record-style objects}(https://vctrs.r-lib.org/articles/s3-vector.html?q=record#record-style-objects
+for details on implementing methods for record vectors.
+}
 \keyword{internal}