I wavered on it for a fair amount of time before finally pulling the trigger on the hakko FR-300 (the FR-301 is now available, which has a few improvements over the FR-300). I use it all the time now. It makes desoldering quick and easy.

I've been satisfied with it.

I usually work my way up from cheap junky tools to nicer & more expensive tools if I find myself using the junky one enough. Although, sometimes it's an unnecessary struggle with the cheaper stuff.

After a while, you kind of get a sense of what kinds of tools it's worthwhile to spend a little money on, usually based on the quality of the tool and how frequently it might get used.

For instance, until last week, I didn't own a circular saw. I made do with either hand saws or a jig saw. I was just cutting 2x4's so I didn't need anything fancy, so I picked something up a smaller circular saw for about $40. I wasn't going to spend $150 on a fancy 12" battery powered circular saw. I probably won't get a whole lot of use out of the one I bought, but it sure made things a lot faster and easier with the project I'm working on.