Labubu dolls, created by the Chinese company Pop Mart, are not just a fad. Their rise is most remarkable on TikTok, where fans are eating up every second of it. These pint-sized elf-like creatures quickly became a phenomenon among both collectors and casual buyers, creating a worldwide Tickle-me-Elf craze. This growing trend has become a gold rush for counterfeiters. According to the latest news, officials confiscated thousands of counterfeit Labubu dolls from an empty warehouse in Greater London. These counterfeits were headed to customers throughout the UK, potentially putting their safety at serious risk.
The charm of Labubu dolls is undeniable, driving the popularity behind Pop Mart’s incredible success. In the last year, the company more than doubled its total revenue to £1.33 billion ($1.81 billion), according to Forbes. As TikToker Meg Goldberger demonstrates, collectors have spared no effort for the most coveted of these collectibles. Goldberger’s private collection of 12 Labubu dolls and about 250 Jellycat plush toys are no joke. She spent the better part of a dozen days anxiously awaiting her turn to purchase the dolls she wanted most during Pop Mart’s Pop Up through TikTok Live Events.
Yet as demand for these original Labubu dolls shoots up, so too does the market for fake ones. Though, you can purchase these counterfeits for little more than £10. That’s a massive outlay saving on the real thing, which cost as much as £80! That low price point does make them tempting to unsuspecting buyers, but the risks they pose are significant.
Kate Caffery, a member of the UK government’s Intellectual Property Office, further underscored the seriousness of this scenario. “Counterfeiting is the second largest source of criminal income worldwide, second only to drug trafficking,” she stated. Like any criminal organization, Caffery said, rapid pivoting would be crucial. By reacting to these trends that happen to be developing, they’re able to squeeze out even more dollars of profit.
Trading Standards’ Rhys Harries has warned about the dangers of these knock-off dolls. He used a plastic tube to explain the danger of these objects. He alerted the world to the dangers that these imposters could cause. “These [parts] will all get stuck and then potentially cause choking,” Harries said. Perhaps most importantly, he pointed out that invoice books discovered with the seized dolls showed it to be a national problem on a huge scale. “There were invoice books with them and they were going all across the UK. It’s a national issue,” he added.
Parents are finally speaking out about the dangers posed by these phony knockoff toys. Jade, a mother whose son was gifted counterfeit Labubu dolls, stated that they create a choking risk. “The fake Labubu dolls are not just cheaper. They could be dangerous,” she remarked.
Labubu dolls possess a unique magic that ensnares collectors. Instead, they sometimes queue up in lines for eight hours or fly cross-country to get their hands on a real one. Meg Goldberger shared her experience: “The more people talked about it and the harder they became to get, the more I needed them. That’s why I now have 12.”
Like many collectors, Goldberger expressed disappointment at the quickness with which these dolls sell out, saying how hard it has been to buy them. They used to sell out in like a minute. It’s now like literally two seconds. You just can’t access them,” she said. The intense competition has pushed some buyers to adopt unethical practices. They use sophisticated automated systems to instantly clear out any new inventory.