What Is A Labubu? Viral Toy Dominates TikTok As Craze Drives Prices Into The Thousands

Forbes

3 days ago

Labubus, plush monster dolls with razor-sharp teeth and mischievous smiles, are the latest product to go viral on TikTok, where obsessed consumers are racking up millions of views showing off their collections as re-sellers charge astronomical prices online for the frequently out-of-stock toys.
Labubus are small monster-like toys inspired by Nordic mythology sold by Chinese retailer Pop Mart, which typically sell for between $20 and $30 and come in 'blind boxes,' so the buyer doesn't know what color or design the doll has until the box is opened.
The collectability and the unpredictable nature of 'blind boxes' have contributed to the toy's meteoric rise on TikTok, where users show off which doll they've unboxed and strive to find the 'secret' Labubu, a rare version of the toy that consumers have a 1-in-72 chance of unboxing.
The hashtag #labubu has been used in 32,000 TikTok posts over the past week in the United States alone and in more than 1 million posts overall, according to TikTok analytics.
Labubus can be difficult to get hold of: Much of the supply is completely sold out on the Pop Mart website, and the few Pop Mart locations in the United States have seen lengthy lines.
Celebrities and influencers have boosted the Labubu trend online, as singers Rihanna and Dua Lipa have been spotted wearing them, as well as members of the K-pop group Blackpink, which helped spark the toy's craze in Asia.
Re-sellers have taken advantage of the Labubu craze, jacking up the price many times over on online re-selling platforms. Some of the most expensive Labubu toys on eBay are being sold for thousands of dollars, with some as high as $7,000 for limited edition versions of the doll. On StockX, where users can place bids on items, some Labubu editions, like a doll sold in partnership with Vans, are selling for more than $3,000 for a single toy. The scene at Pop Mart stores can also be chaotic, as some TikTok users have posted videos depicting customers brawling and yelling at one another over the viral toys. One user posted a video describing what she called the 'Labubu Hunger Games,' in which she arrived at a California mall early in the morning to catch a Labubu product release. In the video, the user was one of the first to line up, where early arrivals were given numbers to keep order in the line, though some people yelled at one another as some people allegedly cut the line.
The Labubu toy was designed by artist Kasing Lung, who is based in Hong Kong but was born in the Netherlands. He took inspiration from Nordic mythology to design the characters, which first debuted in a picture book, 'The Monsters Trilogy,' in 2015. Lung struck a licensing deal with Pop Mart in 2019, through which his designs were transformed into collectible toys.
At least 462 Labubu toys have been confiscated by customs authorities in China as sellers smuggle them into the country, CNN reported last week. Labubu toys are also selling out fast in China, and authorities confiscated the toys because they were intended 'for profit by resale.'
Labubu toys are just the latest product to take over TikTok, much like Stanley cups, which went viral last year. Like Labubus, voracious Stanley consumers lined up outside stores in anticipation of new cup releases, and some have been filmed getting into brawls with one another. The Stanley craze has inspired wild behavior, like one woman who stole more than $2,500 worth of the viral cups in January 2024, and other scammers who have tried selling knockoffs as the real thing.
As with the Stanley cup trend, some TikTok users have criticized the Labubu trend as an example of overconsumption. In one TikTok video liked nearly 250,000 times, a user criticized people for purchasing Labubus in bulk and buying from resellers as participating in overconsumption, alleging they wouldn't like the dolls if they weren't popular. In another video liked 350,000 times, a user urged people to 'be original,' stating: 'I genuinely don't believe that you people like that. You're only buying it because other people are buying it.'
These toys are so hot that Chinese customs agents have seized hundreds of them in recent weeks (CNN)