New Yorkers struck with Labubu lunacy as obvious fakes of uber-popular Chinese monster dolls flood Canal Street

New York Post

17-07-2025

The Labubu lunacy has taken over Canal Street.
Knockoffs of the viral, little monster dolls have flooded the infamous Chinatown market — with New Yorkers eagerly snatching them up despite the celeb-favorite bag charms being obvious fakes.
Dozens of tourist trap shops have counterfeit versions of the creepy, pint-sized toys — dubbed 'Lafufus' — proudly displayed at their entrances for as low as $10, an enticing discount off Chinese retailer POP Mart's $30 pricetag.
'It's trendy and I thought it was cute,' said Griselda Flores, 24, who bought a $20 knockoff from a corner market for her 4-year-old son.
6 Counterfeit labubus, dubbed 'lafufus,' are flooding Canal Street.
Gabriella Bass
He wouldn't know the difference, Flores said — while she had a real, pink little monster dangling from her purse.
'He saw it and wanted it,' Flores said, adding: 'I'm not trying to spend too much.'
It took an hour for her to secure two legit Labubus from an online POP Mart auction, which ultimately cost her $76, she noted.
The 3-inch monsters, created by Hong Kong-based artist Kasing Lung, began being sold on POP Mart in 2019, but only became a global sensation recently after being trotted around by the likes of singer Lisa from the group Blackpink, Rihanna and Dua Lipa.
Original Labubus can come fairly cheap via the 'blind box' craze, in which US buyers can pay $27.99 for a mystery figurine — and the chance to receive a rare version of the toy has only served to fuel the online frenzy.
The high demand means the secret boxes sometimes sell out in minutes, and the uber-popular plushies can skyrocket in resale value when they're unboxed.
6 Griselda Flores and her husband bought their son a Lafufu because he couldn't tell the difference from a real one.
Gabriella Bass
Some resellers have been pocketing up to $5,000 per Labubu on secondhand retail sites like eBay.
The Labubu trade is so hot that it's even bled into the black markets, with Page Six's own Evan Real and Danny Murphy spending a collective $745 on the creepy little dolls.
The 'Virtual Realitea' stars stumbled upon a 'Gen Z plug' who deals the authentic, but extremely marked up prices, which they are willing to pay in order to choose the color and style of their dolls, as well as get it in their hands within a day.
'When you see them in the wild, when you see someone with, it you get hooked into it,' said Murphy, who has seven Labubus. 'I fell for the rush and I love the fact that I was able to go to the opposite of an outlet mall for it.'
Real, who suffered through the auction-like process of buying off POP Mart's website twice, now has six Labubus, 'and I feel six times more joy in my life every day when I look at them sitting on my desk,' he said.
But he said he needs to draw the line before buying more: 'The addiction has gotten out of hand.'
For shoppers in search of cheaper wares, many Canal Street vendors sell the dolls unboxed — alongside bogus Louis Vuitton bags and Prada sunglasses — for the low price of a single Alexander Hamilton, with their flaws and inconsistencies on full display.
The Post bought a 'Have a Seat' Labubu on Wednesday and the toy's head was barely hanging on, had 10 teeth, loose threads, melted paint and a plastic Labubu-shaped design on its foot.
6 The Post bought a fake Labubu with ten teeth — a telltale sign it's not authentic.
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6 A Lafufu, left, seen with an authentic Labubu.
Gabriella Bass
6 Real Labubus come with an authenticity card.
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'That one's bad,' said Xander Goodman, 18, of Austin, Texas, who was wearing one of the two real Labubus in his collection.
The teen bought the toys mostly because of their popularity, but felt confident in knowing that he had possession of something that would eventually 'appreciate in value.'
'A way to spot a fake Labubu is you look at the teeth: you usually have nine teeth [on a real one]. The ears can also be misshapen and not the right colors, and the toes can kind of be really wide and have different amounts,' he said.
6 Canal Street vendors were selling the toys for as low as $10.
Gabriella Bass
The best way to tell if a Labubu is real is through the 'caring card' that the toy comes with inside its box, Goodman noted.
'There is a little QR code. You are able to scan that and it can verify the authenticity of it.'
None of the Canal Street Labubus came with such a card, but customers didn't seem to care.
One salesperson told The Post all the stores buy the Labubus from the same supplier, while a second said they come straight from China.
All the salespeople were adamant that the toys were authentic — and not Lafufus.
Nolan Petras, 7, of Georgia picked out an unboxed monster doll because he could 'actually see what it is.'
'I know if they have 9 teeth it's a real one,' he said, pointing to the rainbow version he chose having the correct number of chompers.
'These girls at my school come over to my house to play and they have it, the fake kind off Temu,' Nolan said, pointing out his classmates' 'Labubus' were obviously fake because they had 10 teeth.