Whether you’re walking around on your school’s campus or maybe you’re just out in public, you’ll notice these small colorful monsters hanging from peoples purses or backpacks. You might stop and wonder what these little creatures are and why so many people have one and you don’t.
Unboxing videos of these creatures are now taking over on social media feeds. You can’t swipe without watching someone open them hoping to get the one they want. At least I couldn’t.
They’re called Labubus and they’re this year’s new obsession.
Labubus comes from a Chinese toy store called Pop Mart, founded in Beijing in 2010. It’s the only place where you can find the real thing. They are retailed at $27.99, and they cost about $35 after tax and shipping.
The High-Stakes Hunt
In order to buy one you need to have the Pop Mart app, after looking up Labubus you’ll come to find out it’s not that easy to get the one you want. You’re basically playing a game and you’re supposed to click on boxes until it takes you to a checkout page, that’s how you know it’s in your cart.
It can take 10 minutes to several hours to obtain one, depending on how many other people are on the site fighting for one. After you pay, that’s when you find out which one you got or you can wait for it to ship to experience the real thing.
A lot of the time people try to resell them for double the price, on reseller websites like Goat or StockX they can be as much as $130, and a lot of the time you don’t know if you’re getting the real thing.
Off-brand Labubus are called Lafufus, or fake Labubus. Sometimes they look identical to the real thing, but oftentimes they look like they got crushed by a trash compactor. So it can be frustrating spending a lot of money second hand only to find out it’s not real.
Sarah Wins, 19, a liberal arts major at Suffolk, believes Labubus can be too expensive. She likes that they’re fluffy but finds their faces to be a little creepy.
Brooke O’Connell, 19, an RTV major, and has heard about Labubus through TikTok. She thinks they’re cool and fun, but would rather they be cheaper.
Falling for the Trap
I unfortunately fell into the trend trap and have been a victim of buying Labubus. My best friend got me hooked and I gave it a shot. The most I’ve spent on a Labubu is $35 from buying on the PopMart app. I only bought two in hopes of getting the one I wanted, and to no one’s surprise, I did not.
I decided to quit while I was ahead. Clicking on the boxes and waiting to see which one would work and take me to checkout was an addicting feeling. It felt like gambling.
In my opinion, Labubus are definitely a trend you can skip. While blind boxes are still wildly popular, the Labubu craze seems to be dying down, with fewer and fewer people talking about them. Even though they’re cute, they’re a micro trend and honestly a waste of money.
Charlotte Corry contributed reporting to this story.
