The internet’s new obsession
Niya Pacholi – When my friend texted me saying her sister got a Labubu, I genuinely had no idea what she was talking about. I thought it was some internet joke or niche cartoon character. So, as any normal person would do, I went on TikTok to see what these were, and this was my mistake.
My whole feed became flooded with videos of Labubu’s — people unboxing them, Labubu blind box hauls, others trading them, people displaying their collections and buying sets of Labubu’s that retail for more than $200. But what stood out to me wasn’t just the quantity of videos — it was who was in them.
To my surprise, it wasn’t really kids playing with the vinyl plush. It was grown adults.
Full-grown adults screaming over blind boxes, filming reactions, and crying when they pulled a “secret” one. Others were paying resellers double or triple the original price just to get a specific character.
I kept scrolling, and it only got more intense. One video showed a man selling Labubus out of the trunk of his car like he was selling substances.
A father pulled up, grabbed one, handed over cash, and drove off — probably just giving in because his kid wouldn’t stop asking. I have seen Labubus at gas stations and people clipping them on their purses. I have also witnessed huge lines at POP MART just for people to get their hands on one.
In June, one source said that a life-size Labubu sold for more than $170,000 at the Labubu art auction hosted in China according to an NBC Article. What’s shocking is that the event had around 1,000 bidders.
So seriously, WTF are Labubu’s?
Labubu —created by a Hong Kong-based designer, Kasing Lung — is part of “The Monsters” collection by POP MART. At first glance, I thought they looked strange. With their sharp teeth, long ears, and wide eyes, I didn’t understand the hype. Some of them looked a bit unsettling, even creepy. But people were buying them for $50 to $70, sometimes more. At Showcase, I saw one blind box listed for $130 — and somehow, it was sold out. This is peak consumerism.
We are watching a generation of grown adults and kids fall into the trap, we once did with Silly Bandz, Rainbow Looms, Beanie Babies, Squishmallows and Jellycats. It feels like every few years, there’s a new “it” toy, except now, the target audience isn’t kids — it’s adults with disposable income and TikTok-fuelled FOMO — “Fear of Missing Out.”
I truly hate to admit this, but eventually, I gave in. Maybe it was the constant repetition on my feed, or my ADHD brain hyperfixating. Or maybe it was the nostalgia — that feeling of wanting to be part of something, even if I didn’t fully understand it. I ended up buying one for my sister. Technically, it was a Lafufu — the knockoff version of Labubu — because I couldn’t justify spending $130 on a 17-centimetre toy.
Still, they grew on me. I started stealing my sister’s Lafufu and clipping it on my own purse. It became a little comfort item, and while I still think the price is ridiculous and the trend is stupid, I can’t deny the weird emotional pull it has. The more I look at it, the cuter it becomes.
But at the end of the day, TikTok made me buy it — it’s a product of algorithm-driven obsession, manufactured desire, and digital-age nostalgia — and honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about it.
Photo contributor: Sienna Bilancia
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