oh nice, was the integrated stand a primary factor in choosing the A8 over the T3A? i really like the T3A's versatility in being able to switch between T12 and C245 handles, but the stand included with its T12 handle looks generic. however if i'm going to go "all in" on a T12 station, i feel that I might as well go for one of the low cost options and invest the savings into genuine hakko tips and accessories. thanks for the link to the yahua, strange that it's now through a different seller, although the business information is identical. i also see that sugon makes an A8 station... do you know if there's a difference between them?
The primary factor why I chose the A8 over the T3A, is that the T3A seems to have some quality issues. I want something reliable to work with, not something to work on.
The T3A comes with a generic stand yes, but they do sell an upgraded stand (the one that comes with the T3B). Some AliExpress sellers sell the T3A in a package with the upgraded stand. It's not cheap though.
Apparently they do have a CE, GS, UL, FCC and RoHS certificate, so should be safe to use at least, but durable is another thing.
The brand is just 5 years old, whereas Sugon is more than 18 years old.
As to the YIHUA, it happens a lot that AliExpress sellers have multiple stores. Why, I don't know, but it's a regular thing on AliExpress. My only assumption is that it's because the 11.11 sales: on the old page it had the discount, but on the new one it doesn't. They also moved it just about 1 or 2 days after the sales had started.
When it was on the old page the Yihua was available for just about €45 if you'd buy some extra tips along with it to get the extra 11.11 discount (~€5 off for every ~€30 spent). On the new page it costs ~€60.
You could wait for 6 days until the sale is over and see if they move it back, then it would be pretty sure that's the reason.
Aifen and Sugon are the exact same. I don't know why they sell it under two different names, maybe they switched it at some point, or they use one for China and one for Global. On the official Sugon site it's listed as an Aifen though:
https://www.sugoncn.com/AifenProducts/info.aspx?itemid=65The Aifen A8 is currently about €32 more expensive than the Yihua, but for that price comes with a brasswire tip cleaner, a built in stand, better sleep mode, nicer display, and nicer handle. Quality wise I think they should be about the same.