I guess when things are out of production/replaced with other products, old stock is sold cheaper?
I'm shopping for a new station, I came across US sellers selling Weller stations for 100-150 USD.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station-with-Chisel-Screwdriver-Tip-Bundle-/381005859772?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item58b5b80bbc
Like this one. How do they do it? Are these fake?
The WES51 is sold for over 440 USD on amazon DE and 320 dollars at Farnell, without the extra tips.
Are these really genuine? Is the 110V transformer so much cheaper to make 
. Is this one of the items which are going to cost one third of the price in the US compared to this country called "the rest of the world"?
It does seem that the same products wired for 220V are horrifically more expensive. Plus the higher taxes paid adds to the pot. We are fortunate here in the US in that we have pretty good pricing compared to the rest of the world. Actually, we can get the WESD51 from MCM Electronics for $99 USD or from Zoro for $103.51 USD shipped. I'm sure in your case, the shipping will cost a bit. They are including some tips with the WES51, so I guess it's a pretty good deal. I can't see any reason not to believe that it is genuine.
The WES51 is sold for over 440 USD on amazon DE and 320 dollars at Farnell, without the extra tips.
Are these really genuine? Is the 110V transformer so much cheaper to make . Is this one of the items which are going to cost one third of the price in the US compared to this country called "the rest of the world"?
WES51 is not sold by EU farnell, at US Newark (farnell) it costs $129.00 + VAT. At amazon (sold by amazon itself) it costs $93
AFAIK there is no 230V version of WES51
The wes 50 is junk.the connector is really crappy and not compatible with any other weller station and the iron itself is also flimzy. The handle is coated in a foam rubber and the hot end is pressed in the handle (not screwed) so after a while the plastic handle settles a bit and the hot end becomes loose.
I just bougt wmrt and wmrp on amzon for 40$ open box. Those are like 700$....
Actually, we can get the WESD51 from MCM Electronics for $99 USD or from Zoro for $103.51 USD shipped.
A recent check of those 2 sites shows the WESD51 to be about $140 (~$100 would be a great deal). The WES51 sells for about $100.
AFAIK there is no 230V version of WES51
FYI both the WES51 and WESD51 are sold in Australia (230V) for around $200 AUD
I don't think I've seen many Weller clones, in comparison to Hakko. The fact that the Chinese are not interested in cloning Weller is itself a sign of something...
Go for those cheap $40 hakko 937 clones, it's all the same thing!
The WES51 is sold for over 440 USD on amazon DE and 320 dollars at Farnell, without the extra tips.
Are these really genuine? Is the 110V transformer so much cheaper to make . Is this one of the items which are going to cost one third of the price in the US compared to this country called "the rest of the world"?
WES51 is not sold by EU farnell, at US Newark (farnell) it costs $129.00 + VAT. At amazon (sold by amazon itself) it costs $93
AFAIK there is no 230V version of WES51
I guess farnell throw me a compatible one. The point is there is nothing even in the ballpark sold here.
Only the Weller red line, which is probably good if you want to solder every year some cables together.