FAKE or NOT!? HAKKO FX-888D

[jastreb]

Hi everyone,
I have just received my delivery of a Hakko fx-888d soldering station from ebay Australia. The seller was advertising it as a Hakko FX-888D. Now I am aware that there are a large number of fakes out there but there was much cheaper ones out there and the seller actually has 99.6% rating with over 45000 sales. He also had listed the model as Hakko in the Brand section which a lot of the fakes seem to either say nothing or something other than Hakko.

Anyway, apart from the shocking condition of the package (the box was torn to shreds) I noticed right away that this might not be a genuine. First clue was the rubber feet on the iron holder (one missing and some out of place). Then the yellow heavy part that sits on top had a poor finish and does not seem to hold the iron in place well. When you lift it up it seems to come off with the iron as well at times. Here are some more pics and I hope you can let me know what you think. I want to ask for a refund. Thanks everyone.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3dwr4xbp9j3293l/AABcVIxFmbamAG___9joARhwa?dl=0

PS: please vote above. I am hoping to point ebay to this posting as a proof of the item being fake. That is if majority of you say its fake. Cheers.

[jwm_]

Man, I'd pay extra for a fake that mistakenly added a working down button. Or an analog knob.

But yeah, the mold marks are a smoking gun. That mold was cast from a genuine hakko poorly. The yellow color looks off to me too but may be the picture.

[PushUp]

In this yt-video there is another fake version, compared with an original one...thus everything points to fake. 

[ataradov]

That can't be more fake. The real one has designer signature in the mold itself, not on some sticker.

The yellow iron part is not perfect on the original one either though.

[jastreb]

Well so far no one has said that its genuine. I hope this is enough to convince ebay to refund my hard earned money. 

[wolfy007]

yup that looks like a fake to me, the finish definitely isnt Hako quality.

[KL27x]

That can't be more fake. The real one has designer signature in the mold itself, not on some sticker.

Well, the old analog versions had the signature on a sticker, AFAIK. You can see the holder for the tuning tool in the OP's bottom plate, just like the old analog 888's. Of course real Hakko's probably don't get assembled from old leftover parts (or new parts made from an old mold that somehow didn't find its way to the landfill.)

https://youtu.be/rtlN0b-gkic?t=121

My analog 888 looks exactly the same as Dave's on the bottom.

There are also at least two different molds used for the iron holder. There can be slight differences. But the crosshatched rubber feet look strange. And the flashing on the molding on the front of the blue housing doesn't look right.

If you want to know what you got, open it up. If you pull the rubber feet off, there is a screw underneath each one. Four screws, and the housing pops off. The genuine has a daughter board sitting atop the transformer and a custom (labeled, at least) micro on the main board. The fakes don't have the daughter board and they use an AVR.

[jastreb]

Thank you KL27x. I appreciate your response. The biggest problem I have with the unit is the really poor finish. Rubber feet missing and not in place where they need to be. Paint not applied properly or flaking off. I have not even turned it on and I will not open it until this case is resolved in ebay. I paid more money than the obvious fake ones available out there so I can get a quality product and not this rubbish.

I would want my money back even if the electronics inside are genuine as the outside is so bad. I say again. The paint on the iron holder is flaking off. You can see it in the photos. The front yellow plastic fascia of the main unit where controls are is short on left side (looking front on) so there is a gap which you can also see on the photos. The rubber feet on main unit which cover the crew holes are actually recessed so they don't play any part in providing grip  or protection to surface it is sitting on. Just too many problems that I don't believe a genuine hakko would have.

I read somewhere that the buttons on genuine product are no that loud. Mine makes a definitive loud "click" when you press them. Just another clue that its fake.

[ataradov]

The paint on the iron holder is flaking off.

The genuine one flakes off too. Not in huge quantities, but it is not robust against iron being inserted and taken out.

[jastreb]

Also if anybody has bought a genuine hakko fx-888D recently, could you post some equivalent photos fr me please somewhere so I can compare and show ebay the difference. That would be great. Thank you all again.

[KL27x]

I've got a few of them. Last purchase from a few weeks ago. The video linked in the beginning is very accurate.

I would bet dollars to donuts yours is fake for the various reasons, they all point to fake. Bottom plate, clicky buttons, flashing, nonfunctional rubber feet. I only mentioned the sticker signature thing cuz the old school analog actually do look exactly like that.

When Hakko bought a new mold, someone apparently sneaked out the old one. This is presumably why the flashing on the front of your unit is so pronounced. Hakko doesn't ship products that look like that, nor would they use the old bottom plate.

In many countries it is illegal to ship counterfeit items. Check our local law. If this is the case, you can't return it, anyway. You would get a refund AND a fake Hakko.

Esthetics aside, one of my main concerns would be the quality of the plastic used in the handpiece. This is what eventually breaks on many of the fakes, because the plastic can't stand up to the heat. Who knows how good the fakes have come, along? Maybe it's 100% awesome, other than the flashing. But the strain relief is noticeably stiffer on some of the fakes, which is a tipoff that the materials may stray from the original foruma.

[jastreb]

If the seller want a return, he will instruct you to file a fake CN22 to declare it as "gifts" or "commercial samples" or "merchandise", not "return/refunds".

Bugger that. They can go jump. And I am not paying for return postage either. Anyway this ebay process looks like it might take a while. The seller has not even responded yet and ebay give them time to respond, then i have to escalate to ebay and god knows what after that.

Anyway. Thank you all. With everybody's input I am now pretty sure its a fake. Lets see if I get my money back.

[KL27x]

If you're not planning to return it, anyway, then why not open it up? Heck, even if you ARE planning to return it, how would anyone ever know? There's no warranty seal. 

FYI, I caught my 888 in just the right light, and the flashing on the blue housing looked exactly like your pic! Dug out another, from 5 years ago, and it is also just the same.

[jastreb]

If you're not planning to return it, anyway, then why not open it up? Heck, even if you ARE planning to return it, how would anyone ever know? There's no warranty seal. 

I just didn't want to take any chances in case I need to return it. Unlike others I like to be honest. Anyway, ebay has asked me to fill in a statutory declaration that I will destroy it. I assume that means I will get my money back.

...and so I have opened up the main unit. It has the daughterboard on top with a glass fuse. It is marked Hakko FX-888. The main board has an ATMEL ATMEGA8 AU 1634 chip on it. SO basically its a fake. A frankenstein fx-888D. Base and daughterboard from a FX-888 (possibly genuine), everything else is fake. *sigh*

Hope I get my money back now. I have to do this stat dec form first. Thanks again everyone.

[amyk]

I assume by "destroy" they really mean that you can't use/resell it exactly as-is, so you can still recycle the parts to make a working iron.

[KL27x]

BTW, regarding the differences in the iron holder:

The original one that came with the analog version doesn't have the sheet metal insert in the bottom. The removal bottom plate is die cast from what looks like zinc-alum alloy, painted black (probably the same alloy that the rest of the holder is cast out of). And it fits in the bottom of the holder snug as a rug. Another difference is that it traditionally came with a grey rubber wiper in the mouth of the container for the brass wool - a wiper which some people swear by, but most of which probably ended up in the trash bin after falling off the 20th time.

The new 888D holder bottom is made from black plastic. That is why it has the additional sheet metal insert.

Also, the original 888(A) has an aluminum alloy base on which the triac is screwed onto the side to provide heatsinking. The 888D has plastic base. The triac is just screwed onto the pcb.

So if you have some of the older "grey market" parts in your Frankenstein station, they might be better (or at least more expensive to make) than the current genuine parts.

[ataradov]

sent a box of knife blades and a set of burial clothes

I can use a free set of blades and rugs. How is this a threat?

If they did not want to have bad reviews, they should consider not lying.

I personally accept that there are a lot of fake items on eBay, and in many cases I'm fine with that, especially if item is not obviously being sold as genuine. And if pictures match the actual item, I'm fine with that.

But sometimes you see obvious lies - pictures of a real deal, "GENUINE" in the title, etc. Those things get automatic request for money back from me.

I'm not buying anything worth any real money from China, but I've got easy returns up to $20. Basically no need to involve eBay at all, just write to seller, and ask for it. They know that they are in the wrong.

[ataradov]

An angry seller can bombard your phone 24/7 unless he get what he wants, for just ~$5/hr.

That's why I don't show my real phone. There is no reason for them to have it.

I get enough robocalls in the US, so that any unknown incoming number is pretty much ignored anyway.

things happen so often in China that cops won't give it a shit.

That's why I don't want to go to China even as a tourist.

[zigzagjoe]

Super fake. Here are some pictures from mine, purchased in 2015 from Fry's for $69. In particular, note the font on the ESD safe text, the definition of the molding mark on the front, and (dead giveaway) the bottom. Different style of sponge in the holder, and mine didn't come with the (silicone?) insert evident on yours. Iron holder casting and finish is completely different, too. Yellow color appears off, though with white balance and differing lighting that's only anecdotal proof.

Great choice of station, though.... if you get a legitimate one.

[KL27x]

The silicone insert was included on the original analog version. OP has grey market original parts. The cast stand, the bottom plate/heat sink, the silicone insert. The way the yellow part of the holder detaches from the blue part.* Those are all exactly same as my analog 888. The board is different, but i bet is just as good. The transformer looks right, but id want to scope it. The real one will be 88.8V peak to peak!

The part that is might be sketchy is the handpiece and heater. There be plenty of exact looking replicas out there that might be made of inferior plastic that degrades with heat and inferior construction of the heater.

*this was pretty annoying. The yellow part of the stand repeatedly detached itself until I introduced it to JB Weld. Fixed with the 888D.