I was in a discussion a few days ago with friends who were complaining about having to pay for downloading a manual for a misbehaving machine of some sort they had.

One person said that she had to pay for it because it cost far less than it took to take her machine to a shop and have them work on it.

Another said that since she had already bought this machine, she should be able to download the manual free and see if she could fix it before spending hard earned money to fix it.

My opinion is that I've paid money for the machine and the manufacturer should let me download the manual free. For one thing, I've already bought this machine and am using it, it really should be easy for me to fix...with the help of a manual.

OTHERWISE that no way in h@@# will I EVER buy another one of this sort and will tell everyone I know about it and warn them to watch out for it.

What is the opinion of others on this forum?

Never heard of that. Who was the manufacturer? Wouldn't want to purchase one of their machines.

I would expect if buying a new machine a manual would be supplied. I also think down-loaded manuals should be gratis. Who on earth would want a manual, unless they had a machine, and a downloaded manual is virtually no cost to the manufacturer. If manufacturers are reasonable, have good websites, and offer great service, people are more likely to buy and recommend their products.

sounds like someone lost their manual or never received one. I feel lucky to find information online and realize it comes at a cost. I do think there is shame on anyone who takes advantage of people looking for help.

If you buy a used machine, you can't expect everything for free. I have a machine I'd love a manual for. But I won't spend $15 on the manual when I paid $20 for the machine! You buy used, no warranty and sometimes no manual.

i think most times at least the owners manual is available for free, but a repair manual is a different product all together. the owners manual is going to show you operating procedures and trouble shooting...a repair manual is going to show how to do repairs and will cost you, because the people who work in shops/do repairs have to pay for them. they do not come with the machines because they do not want you to fix your own, they want you to take it in...just like car repairs...if you buy a car it comes with an owners manual, if you want to fix your car you have to go buy a repair manual...or take it to someone who already spent money on the repair manual. if you buy a used machine that did not come with an owners manual i think you should expect to buy a manual for it if you want one...but if you buy a new machine that is missing one i would be calling the dealer and getting one for free.

It's mainly my own problem. I have a tendency to "put things where I can find them easily".

In other words, a place for everything and everything in its place. Except that it's rarely the same place twice in a row.

I know the manual is somewhere in the house, it's just the "where" that is in doubt and I need to fix the darn sewing machine or whatever right now. With my Brother CS-100 I downloaded the owner's manual easily, and it is pretty easy to follow. It's just that I'm still having a problem with the tension, the bottom threads are still not staying down unless it's a straight stitch. Probably have to read all the darn thing, and there's a lot of it.

More and more manuals are online rather than printing nowadays. i keep wondering about the poor souls that don't have computer!!! (yes, there are a few) My other thought is that the manual for some of the items I've bought lately are so darned lame that it's almost worthless to have them!!! I was into tech-writing for a while and I see SO many wrong things with manuals. Some make you wonder if they ever went over their instructions to see if THAT works!!!!

Many new items, like a printer, are coming with on-line manuals, nothing printed. It happened to us once. The problem was that the print was so small that we needed to print it to see it well, but I can not print because I haven't installed the printer. This can give you a headache.

Many places on-line where you can find the manual will charge a fee because they are not the manufacturer. These are just companies that do nothing else but copy manuals and make them available to you. Most manufacturers will send you either a printed copy of the manual or an electronic copy if you request it.

Most manufacturers will send you either a printed copy of the manual or an electronic copy if you request it.[/quote]
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Whoops, never thought of that, and it makes sense.
That's me, gripe first, then if it doesn't work, start taking it apart to fix it. Since DH passed nearly 4 years ago, I find myself doing things that I had never dreamed I'd have to. It's either gripe about it and keep on griping, or actually get up and do something about it now. Depends on how irritating the problem is.