If you’ve been on TikTok or Instagram Reels over the past week, chances are you’ve come across a video referencing “Labubu.”
Labubu is a character from a Chinese brand of luxury plush dolls sold exclusively through POP MART, a Chinese toy retailer. The brand’s signature dolls, which are a part of a series release called “The Monsters” have gained widespread popularity across short-form content sites like TikTok.
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The unique dolls are short and fuzzy, often featuring large, mischievous eyes, pointy teeth and rabbit-like ears. These fluffy critters aren’t just meant to sit on a shelf; the figures contain a latch, and many buyers use them as a key-chain-like accessory, adding a pop of color to a purse or handbag.
See examples of styled Labubu here.
Labubu dolls are also packaged in a “mystery box” format, meaning you don’t know right away which specific doll you’re going home with.
They come in a variety of colors and styles across different series releases, and they fluctuate in terms of rarity and value. An authentic Labubu figure can cost anywhere from $50 to $200.
There are also separate entities offering knock-off Labubu dolls for cheaper prices, and these are often referred to as “Lafufus.”
If the price tag of a single Labubu doll wasn’t surprising enough, the process of actually buying one is even more grueling.
If you want to buy one the old-fashioned way, you’ll need to go to a POP MART store. There are currently four locations in the Houston area, at First Colony Mall, The Woodlands Mall, Willowbrook Mall and Baybrook Mall.
However, the long lines and limited supply of Labubu dolls have made buying one from a physical store more difficult than you might have assumed.
Buying a Labubu doll online presents similar challenges. The online supply on POP MART is almost constantly out of stock, meaning your best bet to acquire a Labubu doll is to secure a spot during a restock.
The restocks are announced every day, typically between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Drops are announced on POP MART’s streams, which can be viewed on TikTok Live.
The streams function in a similar way to those old-timey jewelry selling TV channels, with products constantly being pushed out. The trick is to wait until the moment a Labubu drop is announced and then pounce on the link on the POP MART website.
Just watching the stream and paying attention to the drop announcement doesn’t guarantee you’ll get your hands on a Labubu doll—far from it in fact.
Since they sell out almost instantly, your chances of getting a spot at the front of the line are somewhat slim. However, with some dedication, quick reflexes and a little bit of luck, you can be fortunate enough to spend $50 on one of these fluffy little guys.
