A beautiful Labubu figure, 131cm (4ft 4in) in height, recently made waves at Beijing’s Yongle International Auction. It went for an astounding 1.08 million yuan, just over $150,324 or £110,465. This sale highlights the soaring popularity of Labubu dolls, quirky monster characters created by designer Kasing Lung, which have gained immense traction over the past decade.
First launched a decade ago, Labubu dolls have been flooded with recent popularity, especially over the last few years. Their popularity has grown enormously through celebrity endorsements. Lisa of the immensely popular K-pop group Blackpink frequently features the dolls in her social media videos. This visibility has resulted in a worldwide buying frenzy and has helped to make them the collector’s items that they are.
The online auction for the Labubu dolls recently completed with nearly 200 excited bidders. It went on to raise a staggering 3.37 million yuan by auctioning 48 one-of-a-kind wares! The record-setting little figurine makes a big splash by sheer size. Its exceptional design and close link to the fabric of pop culture only serve to heighten that awesomeness. While Labubu dolls auction for four-figure sums, they commonly retail in mystery “blind boxes” for around 50 yuan ($8) each via Pop Mart. This price and power point combined opens them up to a whole different level of users.
Originally Labubu dolls were pretty affordable, but once they became super popular… Earlier this year, Pop Mart pulled them from all UK shops after instances emerged of customers brawling to get their hands on the sought-after figures. This last-minute decision was surely fueled by the fierce collector and fan competition to snatch these highly-anticipated figures.