Pricing and availability of single tips
#1
I recently purchased a Pinecil from a German reseller since I am convinced that it is a good product and I was not disappointed when I got it. A great soldering iron which suits my needs perfectly.

However I wonder about two things:

At https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart...ring-iron/ the Pinecil V2 is offered for a retail price of $35.99 - but there it is out of stock.

However at https://eleshop.de/pinecil-smart-mini-tr...olben.html which is one of the "official" resellers, the same product is 52.07 EUR plus shipping which is more than 70% more expensive (currently this would be around $61.77).

When combining this with the "offical" power supply "PinePower - 65W GaN 2C1A Charger", the Pinecil USB cable with silicon sleeve and the "Portable Mini Stand" the total price will be more than 100 EUR since nearly every item is at least 70-80% more expensive in Europe. The "Mini Stand" is sold for about $5.27 in Europe compared to the original price of $1.99 in the Pint Store which is more than twice(!) the price.

I also looked for other sources, but original Pinecil V2 and not fake ones, are not available for less then about $60-$70.

Why this huge price gap?

Another thing about getting tips:

The tip which comes with the Pinecil is not very useful for many soldering tasks. Due to its pointed shape it will not transfer heat very well. Wedge shaped tips like D24 are usually much better suited since you can either use the wide side to transfer a lot of heat if needed or the smaller side to do fine soldering tasks. So I also got a pack of short "gross" tips which includes the D24 tip. As an initial accessory collection this is ok since the other tips in the package are also useful.

However when I ever need to replace a single tip I would have to be a complete new pack of four - which makes no sense of course. Why are the tips not available individually? I'd like to have at least one D24 as spare part but I also don't want to use TS100 tips which are available individually but also longer and with less power.
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#2
The Pinecil goes in and out of stock on the pine64.com constantly, every batch is just sold out very quickly as people seem to love that device. For example right now at the time of my reply it is currently in stock.

Regarding the price gap: Mind that the Pine store is selling many devices at production cost or loss, while commercial stores have to calculate in a lot more costs, including calculatory entrepreneurs' salary and risks. The pine64.com store also sells from China, so you have to take taxes and import fees into account as well. The taxes are calculated from the device prices plus the shipping costs and they add up quickly.

Example with the reseller you linked (shipping to Germany):

Reseller: 56.36 USD + 7.52 USD shipping = 63.88 USD

pine64.com: 25.99 USD + 11.99 USD shipping + 7.22 USD taxes (plus fee from the shipping company for the import, roughly 6.50 USD) = 45.20 USD / 51.70 USD

So in this example it's slightly more expensive to buy from the reseller, however you will have a proper EU warranty and returning and repair would be considerably easier as well, plus the fast shipping compared to slow China shipping.
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#3
(02-04-2023, 01:42 PM)fxc Wrote: (...)

So in this example it's slightly more expensive to buy from the reseller, however you will have a proper EU warranty and returning and repair would be considerably easier as well, plus the fast shipping compared to slow China shipping.

Thanks for the explanation, yes this makes sense.

But what about the tips? Are they any plans to get the shorter tips individually in the future and not just in a pack of four different types?
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