A 4-foot-tall Labubu doll sold for a record of more than $170,000 Tuesday in Beijing during the world’s first auction dedicated to the red-hot collectible toys.
The sale, part of Yongle Auctions' Labubu art auction, was one of many first-generation Labubu figures sold at the event.
Demand for the odd-looking figurines has surged in recent months, recalling the same type of hype seen in the late 1990s during Pokemania or Beanie Babies.
The plush toys, created by illustrator Kasing Lung and sold by Pop Mart since 2019, have become the subject of massive lines, fights and bragging rights among the few able to get their hands on them.
“As a trendy toy in China, Labubu is now becoming a global artwork as it has truly sparked a craze around the world,” Zhao Xu, the founder of Yongle Auction, told The Beijing News.
Unsurprisingly, the rush for the toys has created a massive secondary market, with some flipping the toys for nearly four times the retail price. Pop Mart’s stock price has followed suit, with the company’s gross profit leaping by more than 125% last year, according to CNN.
Yongle reported a 100% sell-through rate for the first-of-its-kind auction, with 48 lots earning more than $500,000 total.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.