By Aida Cepeda, Age 11
Have you ever seen a Labubu hanging off of someone’s bag?
Labubus are collectibles with a huge smile, long ears, and nine sharp teeth showing. They are made by a Chinese company called Pop Mart. The Labubu is a magical creature that appears in a fairy tale by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. Labubus became popular when the famous K-pop star Lisa started making videos about how she loved Labubus. From there, it spiraled, and then everyone started buying them. Celebrities like Dua Lipa, Naomi Osaka, Kim Kardashian, and Rihanna have all been spotted with Labubus.
Labubus that hang off purses or bags are called “charms” and cost $27.99. But online resale prices of Labubus on sites like eBay can range up to $10,585 or more, according to Forbes, depending on what type of Labubus you buy, what edition you get, and how rare they are. For example, “a one-of-a-kind human-sized Labubu doll in mint green sold for $150,000 at a Beijing auction,” according to Bloomberg.
Pop Mart uses blind box marketing to increase its sales. Blind box marketing is when a collectible like a toy is boxed, but which one you get is actually a surprise. Because of this marketing strategy, Pop Mart’s revenue has soared up to 13.9 billion yuan in the first half of 2025 alone, or almost $2 billion USD, according to Bloomberg.
Blind box marketing is controversial because it can become addictive, according to The Guardian. You go to the store to buy one, but you didn’t get the one you like, so you go back to the store to buy another, and the cycle repeats. Once you find the one you want, you just want more. Many adults nowadays want to collect items like Labubus to escape from reality and to feel like a kid again, explains The Guardian. For younger people, it’s a way to gain popularity and friends.
As Dana Nguyen told The Guardian, “You’re already struggling as it is, with the economy, with society, and you think: OK, let me just have a little sweet treat because I’m not able to afford other luxuries in life.” The 27-year-old from Monterey, Calif., realized she had a problem when she calculated that she had spent $4,000 on Labubus.
Collecting toys such as Labubus can be dangerous because, sooner or later, it can become an addiction or fuel the need to gamble more. For example, a study cited by The Guardian from 2023 found that young people who buy blind boxes gambled more six months later than those who did not buy blind boxes.
But have you recently seen fewer Labubus than when they first came out? The big question is: Will the craze around Labubus continue? It is not certain whether it will drop in popularity like previous toy trends, such as Beanie Babies, or if they will stay around like Barbies. Time will tell.
