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What Is A Labubu? Everything To Know About The Trendy Toy

What Is A Labubu? Everything To Know About The Trendy Toy

Buzz Feed7 days ago

In the era of sweet little treats and trying to ignore the dumpster fire state of the world with whimsical little trinkets, it's no surprise blind boxes are having a moment. Coming off the heels of Sonny Angels, Labubus are scratching that nostalgic and ugly-cute itch for those of us that grew up collecting Troll dolls or Beanie Babies back in the day.
Now, I bet you're probably thinking, 'Okay, cool, but what the heck is a Labubu?' Well, the furry little creatures hail from a series of books called The Monsters by artist Kasing Lung. Lung — a Hong Kong-based artist living in the Netherlands — took inspiration from Nordic folklore and mythology to create these little mischievous elves, with their huge eyes and jagged little teeth. Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart to bring his creations to life off the page, and the rest is history.
Besides Labubus, Pop Mart also sells collectibles of other creatures from the books. There's Zimomo, who is bigger than the Labubus and has a tail. He's the leader of the Monsters (fun fact: Labubus are canonically girlies!) and is described as being more mellow than the others. There's also Mokoko, who is pink, has a heart-shaped nose, and is described as a total sweetheart.
All these characters — plus a ton of others from Pop Mart's various blind box collections — can be found IRL at the PopLand theme park in Beijing.
While it's not too hard to find Pop Mart's other iconic collections, like Skullpanda, Crybaby, or Peach Riot (a personal favorite of mine, TBH), I'm sorry to say you won't be able to get your hands on a Labubu right now without putting up a bit of a fight first. That is unless you're A-OK with paying a boatload for resale or getting a Lafufu instead — the internet's teasing name for the plethora of decent-to-horrifyingly-botched Labubu knockoffs that have taken gas stations and flea markets alike by storm in the wake of the Labubu craze.
I've gotta be honest with you, Lafufus are kinda iconic.
As of right now, you can't simply walk into a Pop Mart store and buy a Labubu blind box off the shelves, unfortunately. If you happen to live near a Pop Mart Robo Shop (like the one off of Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles, which is essentially a vending machine), they occasionally restock them IRL, but they tend to sell out in the blink of an eye, so you've gotta be fast. Your best bet is to try and snatch one in their online drops — either on their website or through the TikTok Shop during Pop Mart's livestream — for face value (which is about $30), then have it shipped to your home or pick it up in-store.
In my experience, I was only able to add one to my cart and cross my fingers as I checked out in hopes of it not selling out before I was able to press 'confirm,' but others have reported being able to use Pop Mart's virtual 'pick one to shake' option, which hints at which Monster might be inside (and confirms which one definitely isn't), allowing you to increase your chances of getting the one you want. This seems most common with Pop Mart's latest Labubu collection, Big Into Energy. In general, though, I've heard through the grapevine that the Pop Mart website tends to restock in small quantities around 7 p.m. PT daily, and that's how I got mine.
On the slim chance that they do find their way to a store near you, like they did a little over two months ago when Pop Mart opened a new physical store in Culver City, be prepared to go into battle. I truly wish I were exaggerating, but the turnout for their Big Into Energy collection was so overwhelming and chaotic that they had to cancel it until a later time according to those who attended.
All that being said…have you hopped on the Labubu bandwagon? Are you dying to get your hands on one or are you rolling your eyes at everybody losing their minds over a plushie? Or are you simply enjoying the secondhand serotonin from watching other people unbox theirs? Tell us your take in the comments below.

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Rare Labubu sells for more than $150,000 at auction
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Rare Labubu sells for more than $150,000 at auction

A rare, first-generation Labubu figure has sold for $150,000 in Beijing at an auction held exclusively for the toys that have taken the world by storm. The 131-centimeter (51-inch) mint green figurine with a gremlin-like appearance, sharp teeth and puckish grin went for 1.08 million yuan ($150,325) at the Yongle International Auction house that normally specializes in selling jewelry and modern art. 'Congratulations to the online buyer on collecting the world's only such one,' said the auctioneer at an exhibition center in downtown Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. Labubus are currently the trendiest plush toys on the planet, created by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung and retailed by the Chinese toy giant Pop Mart. In recent months, the bunny-bodied, elf-faced creatures — equal parts grotesque and adorable — have soared in popularity, sparking buying frenzies around the world, and in some cases, brawls among fans outside shops selling them. Even in China, where Pop Mart is based and most of its toys are made, people are struggling to get their hands on Labubus. A total of 48 Labubus were auctioned at the special event, billed as the 'World's First' auction of first generation collectible Labubus. A brown, 160-centimeter (63-inch) Labubu figure, sold for $114,086, the second highest hammer price at the event. The company said only 15 such figures exist around the world. Other figures went for more than $1,000 each. 'As a trendy toy in China, Labubu is now becoming a global artwork as it has truly sparked a craze around the world,' Zhao Xu, the founder of Yongle Auction, told state-owned outlet The Beijing News. Zhao said the company plans to hold monthly livestream auctions for Labubu and other trendy artworks. A pair of Minions-like Labubus sold at auction for 10,000 yuan ($1,391). Buyers at the auction also had to pay an additional 15% brokerage fee on top of the hammer prices. And it's not rare to see a price inflation of Labubus due to the crazy demand in China. For instance, a blind box from the latest Labubu 3.0 series, originally priced at around $81, has been selling for up to $278 on the second-hand market, state-owned outlet Cover News reported. Labubu's viral popularity has been a booster for Pop Mart. Annual results show that the Chinese company's global gross profit surged by over 125% last year, while its revenue in mainland China reached more than $1.09 billion, 34% higher than 2023.

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Rare Labubu sells for more than $150,000 at auction

A rare, first-generation Labubu figure has sold for $150,000 in Beijing at an auction held exclusively for the toys that have taken the world by storm. The 131-centimeter (51-inch) mint green figurine with a gremlin-like appearance, sharp teeth and puckish grin went for 1.08 million yuan ($150,325) at the Yongle International Auction house that normally specializes in selling jewelry and modern art. 'Congratulations to the online buyer on collecting the world's only such one,' said the auctioneer at an exhibition center in downtown Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. Labubus are currently the trendiest plush toys on the planet, created by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung and retailed by the Chinese toy giant Pop Mart. In recent months, the bunny-bodied, elf-faced creatures — equal parts grotesque and adorable — have soared in popularity, sparking buying frenzies around the world, and in some cases, brawls among fans outside shops selling them. Even in China, where Pop Mart is based and most of its toys are made, people are struggling to get their hands on Labubus. A total of 48 Labubus were auctioned at the special event, billed as the 'World's First' auction of first generation collectible Labubus. A brown, 160-centimeter (63-inch) Labubu figure, sold for $114,086, the second highest hammer price at the event. The company said only 15 such figures exist around the world. Other figures went for more than $1,000 each. 'As a trendy toy in China, Labubu is now becoming a global artwork as it has truly sparked a craze around the world,' Zhao Xu, the founder of Yongle Auction, told state-owned outlet The Beijing News. Zhao said the company plans to hold monthly livestream auctions for Labubu and other trendy artworks. A pair of Minions-like Labubus sold at auction for 10,000 yuan ($1,391). Buyers at the auction also had to pay an additional 15% brokerage fee on top of the hammer prices. And it's not rare to see a price inflation of Labubus due to the crazy demand in China. For instance, a blind box from the latest Labubu 3.0 series, originally priced at around $81, has been selling for up to $278 on the second-hand market, state-owned outlet Cover News reported. Labubu's viral popularity has been a booster for Pop Mart. Annual results show that the Chinese company's global gross profit surged by over 125% last year, while its revenue in mainland China reached more than $1.09 billion, 34% higher than 2023.

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A Beijing auction house has sold a four-foot-tall sculpture of a viral plush toy character for more than $150,000, as global demand for the Chinese-designed Labubu dolls reaches fever pitch. The rabbit-like figures sporting mischievous grins began as a character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, and are made by Beijing-based toy brand Pop Mart. They have been endorsed by celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and fans have queued overnight outside stores hoping to snag one, with analysts pointing to the phenomenon as evidence of China's growing soft power. On Tuesday, a teal sculpture depicting a Labubu character with a furry body and head fetched an eye-watering 1.08 million yuan ($150,260) at an auction held in Beijing, according to the auction house's app. The sculpture is "the only piece of its kind in the world", according to Yongle International Auction. It was offered alongside other Labubu paraphernalia including a brown statue that sold for 820,000 yuan. Pop Mart has over 400 stores globally, including 30 US branches. The worldwide frenzy has seen people go to desperate lengths to acquire their own Labubu. Last month a London branch of Pop Mart suspended in-store sales of the toys, fearing violence from would-be buyers who failed to get their hands on the limited-edition Labubus. In Singapore, CCTV footage captured a family stealing Labubu dolls from a claw machine, according to Singaporean online media outlet AsiaOne. Burglars broke into a store in California last week and took several Labubu dolls along with electronics and other valuables, American news outlet ABC reported. In China, the toys have been promised as freebies for new bank customers -- an incentive quickly shut down by local regulators, according to Chinese media reports. The toys have spawned a booming resale market as well as an online community of fans sharing tips on how to customise their dolls. Knockoffs -- many of which are also made in China -- have flooded online platforms, dubbed "Lafufus" by social media users. tjx/reb/dhc

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