Too good to be true (220V Hakko fx-888 replica)

[rounsmith]

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/hanko-fx-888-70w-soldering-station-ac-220v-126505

[Nermash]

I am also wondering if this is real or fake?

[saturation]

Thanks for finding that.  Hanko?  But the labels and boxes say Hakko on them.  If its not a real Hakko its very likely counterfeit, and for nearly the same price as Hakko [ its priced far more than the US version!].  Another reason to be careful about where you buy Hakko products, the copies can be very good.

The only thing I can see clearly on the photos is power switch.



Photo from Sparkfun:

[bsgd]

DX changed the title and it now says 'Genuine HAKKO'.

From the pictures, I guess it is an original HAKKO product for the chinese market.

[bsgd]

The stickers on the bottom look exactly like my unit that I got from an official US HAKKO distributor.

[gxti]

The US version costs less than 100 USD from US retailers, so it doesn't seem that sketchy that Chinese retailers are selling the 240V version for "only" 111 USD. It's just sold without the enormous Euro/Aussie cabal markup

Also, the power switch from the first picture looks the same as on my genuine US Hakko 936, so that's not so strange. The colors look the same plus or minus bad photography by DX.

[Mint.]

DX changed the title and it now says 'Genuine HAKKO'.

From the pictures, I guess it is an original HAKKO product for the chinese market.

It even says it includes a Chinese user manual

[Spawn]

Don’t think having exact same stickers and crap like that wont make it a real one. We all can do a wild guess here but if anyone is interested, why not mail HAKKO US and ask about this?

[alm]

I'm sure that Hakko US will suggest that you bypass the local distributors and buy it cheaper from China. Their suggestion would probably be something like: 'We always suggest you to buy it from local authorized resellers, this is the only way to guarantee a genuine product and support. We are aware of several sources of counterfeit Hakko products.'

[Psi]

Their suggestion would probably be something like: 'We always suggest you to buy it from local authorized resellers',

If they do we can respond with the fact that local resellers are ripping us off, and explain that the 220V version costs twice as much from local distributors as the 110v version in USA.

[mariush]

I wish that was the case.

For me, this was what the distributor for my country said:

"Well you see, we usually work only with companies, so we don't have procedures to send to a private person like you, but I'll make an exception.  We can give it to you for 210 euro plus 10 euro shipping through courier."

That's basically 275$ just for the fx-888.

I can get anytime Sparkfun or Adafruit's (forget which one I checked) fx-888 for 90$ + 60$ shipping +3% customs fees + 24% vat and it's still much less. Same price on eBay as well...

If Dealextreme's costs only 115$ and it's original, it would be a great deal, especially as I would just have to replace the cord. Also, as a bonus, there would be no 24% VAT for this, because they don't print the prices on the box and usually list the items as "toys", so i can just tell the customs officers it was 20$ and that's the end of it.

However, I went and bought a Hakko 936 from a guy in Israel, which works at 230v natively, so I'm all good for now.

I'm really surprised how these large companies work with some incompetent distributors or distributors that ignore some parts of the markets. The sad thing is even if I'd send an email, it will probably go to a some Indian guy's desk and then get a template answer.

I was interested in some hand tools from an Italian company these days, checked their distributors list and found a local company.... sent them an email ... "Hi, our company changed the type of services offered five years ago, we don't sell hand tools anymore."

Five years... their websites was still there live, they never bothered to remove it, the original company never bothered to check the distributor...

[alm]

Would Hakko US really care? They're just a subsidiary of Hakko Japan, aren't they? And I find it very unlikely that Hakko is not aware of the prices your local resellers charge. It wouldn't surprise me if Hakko charged higher prices for the 220 V units to their distributors. The higher prices for the consumers may just be the result of this policy. How else would you explain the uniformly high prices in 220 V countries?

[EEVblog]

There appear to be a whole slew of companies in China selling the 220V FX-888:
http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?SearchText=fx-888&catId=0&manual=y

I suspect they are just low margin chinese market products, and not fakes.
But it would take a teardown to prove it.
The FX-888 is very well made inside, with quite a bit of attention to detail, so I'd expect a fake to be much more shoddily constructed.

Dave.

[gjh]

I got my Hakko FX-888 in person from Shenzhen SEG electronics market... Cost $93 AUD, from a trusted seller well with my eyes.... Have purchased multiple times from same seller before for other equipment.. ie. Rigol DS1052E scope..    Seller had a good looking authorised dealer certificate,etc and the build quality of mine from the outside looks pretty good cant fault it, works great!   I guess I'll pull mine apart and check.   Local distrubutors in Oz charge a arm and a leg for this soldering iron like $170+

[Bored@Work]

Fine if you got some good equipment, but

Seller had a good looking authorised dealer certificate

that wold not be a criteria for me. Everyone with Word, PowerPoint or Photoshop can make good looking certificates. http://www.google.com/search?q=certificate+template

[Dagon]

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/302103/210652245-387080283/New-Arrival-220V-Hakko-FX-888-Soldering-Station-Hakko-Soldering-Irons.html
This shop , Shenzhen Scotle sells what looks like a real one .

I got one from these guys a few months back. I don't believe it's fake. If it is it's the best one I've ever seen, I checked it pretty thoroughly. It came with chinese   documents so it does seem they are for the domestic market.

[krivx]

Has anyone reviewed this model from DX yet? It seems very attractive for those of us in Europe. I would order it and pull it apart but can't really afford the risk of getting a shoddy fake .

[saturation]

If you pay near the US price for a Hakko from a dubious seller, why risk getting counterfeit?  That switch I showed is concerning because all the Hakkos coming from the Malaysian plant have the switch as shown in many photos of folks who bought Hakkos from authorized sources, and Hakko's official photos.  So unless Hakko changed production parts supplier, it raises questions.

Many of aliexpress or alibaba etc., are distributors and could legitimately have true Hakko.  But, its your risk.  You could try ordering from the US mail order side and see what happens.  As always, get the voltage for your country.

There is a new Hakko iron out, it puts the entire station in the handle, and still uses the regular tips.

http://www.hakkousa.com/detail.asp?CID=49&PID=5032&Page=1

[krivx]

If you pay near the US price for a Hakko from a dubious seller, why risk getting counterfeit? 

I'm not sure if this was directed at me, but the cost of a 220V FX888 in Europe is about 2-4 times the US price, and it seems to be difficult to find a US seller who will stock a 220V model and ship internationally. This is a very attractive alternative if genuine.

[saturation]

hi krivx,  the reply wasn't addressed to you, or anyone else, its just to the topic.  You can chat with hakkousa.com to see if they can obtain a 220V version for you, and quote shipping too.  A problem with buying via China dealers is that Hakko is commonly counterfeited in China, you just need to beware.

http://www.hakko.com/english/company/intellectual_property/index.html

Aliexpress and its parent, alibaba, are covered with fraudsters and counterfeit sellers some of them working with alibaba's own employees, so buyer beware.  Even they website warns of them, they have very lax controls.

http://help.aliexpress.com/safebuyingtips/Tips_on_how_to_avoid_fraud_on_AliExpress.html

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/02/executives-at-alibaba-resign-over-fraud-investigation.html

Maybe its fixed now, but you are safer buying from anyone but them or other companies controlled by them.

If you pay near the US price for a Hakko from a dubious seller, why risk getting counterfeit? 

I'm not sure if this was directed at me, but the cost of a 220V FX888 in Europe is about 2-4 times the US price, and it seems to be difficult to find a US seller who will stock a 220V model and ship internationally. This is a very attractive alternative if genuine.

[Dagon]

Since the markup doesn't differ much for the US market , it is correct .
By the way , where is it made ?

It's says Malaysia.

[gjh]

Normally most shops that sell these stuff have a little cred since there are very few gold accredited stores selling soldering equipment , but like saturation said , it could be .
gjh said  Shenzhen SEG electronics market is a good shop selling the actual FX-888
and Dagon said Shenzhen Scotle was good .
A teardown is necessary to prove us wrong .

It was the only reseller that I could find in the whole SEG market and that place is huge!     The store did have some sort of accrediation, and I know certificates can be photoshopped etc.   Too me the store didn't seem dodgy and I've seen many dodgy things in China. My Hakko did come with chinese registration cards and all that so its for the chinese domestic market.    Afterwards I did by a fake Apple 4g bluetooth headset knowing its fake from the same market also I  tried to find a dodgy copy of Windows XP my wife kept on asking store after store within the SEG market and could only purchase legit copies.  Had to venture outside on the street to find a dodgy person on the street corner selling a cheap dodgy copy. 

Not everything in china is 100% dodgy but you have to know what to look out for and check quality.  When in doubt if its cheap buy one unit and check it over.

I guess tonight I will open up my Hakko and check the quality for sure!  I'll post up some photos.

[gjh]

Not too sure which Shenzhen market i bought my YH 858D at , certainly inside the building(s) they are run by different people .
There are so many buildings that all i remember that the one i bought from is on a stop named 'Lingzhi' and that was opposite my hotel .
Sadly i was there for only 4 days and i had next to no time to shop there .

Yeah there's many markets there..  Thats why everytime I see something good or make a purchase, I usually take a business card and write on the back the item I purchased

Pictures of the SEG market are covered in this link http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/shenzhen

4 days is clearly not enough for first time traveller..  On my first time I was in Shenzhen a few years ago for 2 weeks.. I must have made 8 or 10 trips to the market area Hua Qiang Bei ,  sometimes 2 times in a single day...   I can't resist myself, every year I say to myself dont buy anything but I usually end up with buying with the mindset what if I need this item in the future..  Even a few weeks before travelling I find myself writing up a list of components to pass onto sellers to fix up my order before hand..  Haven't came across any fake chips yet though that I keep on hearing about on the net.

[bsgd]

The stickers on the bottom look exactly like my unit that I got from an official US HAKKO distributor.

How far away are the S/N on the image from yours ?

Sorry for the delay. My SN is completely different, much lower.

[amyk]

From looking around, the genuine FX-888 seems to have a microcontroller, while clones are likely to just use the same analog control they've been using in the 936 era.

IMHO there shouldn't be a need for an MCU in a simple soldering station like this. An all-analog controller is simpler to diagnose and easier to repair.