The star of the night? A mint-green, 131cm tall Labubu—practically the size of a toddler, but with a price tag that could buy you a luxury car, a flat in smaller cities, or about 80,000 packets of hotpot-flavoured instant noodles.
Hashtag Madness & Snarky Takes
The moment that final bid was confirmed, the Weibo hashtag #初代Labubu被108万拍卖成交 (“First-Gen Labubu Sold at Auction for 1.08 Million Yuan”) exploded into the trending charts, holding its spot for two days straight.
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| Priced Like a Flat: First-Gen Labubu Auction Stuns Internet with 1.08M Yuan Sale |
Netizens across China didn’t hold back with their reactions—ranging from sheer disbelief to top-tier meme material.
“Looks like money laundering,” one user bluntly dropped.
“Labubu’s cute and all, but this is just rich people playing pretend,” another quipped.
“Everyone knows it’s a scam, but who’s gonna stop it?”
“They said Labubu is rare—so is common sense these days.”
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Some took it as a moment for comedy gold:
“Apparently Labubu is the new Zhang Fei—just slapped on some foundation and became a millionaire. 😂”
“After seeing this, I bought a secondhand Huawei instead. More practical, more signal!”
.jpeg "First-Gen Labubu Auctioned for Over 1 Million Yuan, Sparks Online Debate in China") |
What’s the Hype, Anyway?
So what is Labubu? In case you've somehow dodged the hype, Labubu is a cheeky monster-elf figure imagined by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. It went mainstream when Chinese toy giant Pop Mart gave it the blind box treatment—since then, it's become the darling of both collectors and hype beasts.
Labubu's fame snowballed after celeb shoutouts from BLACKPINK’s Lisa and even Rihanna (yep, that Rihanna), plus thousands of aesthetic unboxings and shelf tours all over TikTok and Xiaohongshu.
But let’s not forget: while the small ones sell out in seconds, it’s the oversized ones like this auction star that are now commanding luxury-level prices—and sparking heated online debates.
Collectible or Capitalism?
The million-yuan Labubu has cracked a new record—the highest price ever paid for a character toy of its kind, according to international press like Reuters. But the internet’s not just clapping. Many are asking: is this about art, nostalgia… or flexing?
Netizens point fingers at:
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Manufactured scarcity: Limited drops feeding FOMO
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Status games: Owning rare Labubu = instant social bragging rights
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Speculation culture: Flipping toys like stocks, hoping they ‘moon’
And amid all that, ordinary folks are left wondering if they’ll ever afford even a regular retail blind box again.
“Labubu used to be something fun. Now it’s just another rich man’s playground,” a viral comment read.
A Toy Craze Gone Wild?
With collectors hoarding, auctions heating up, and prices soaring, the Labubu craze is becoming one of Asia’s wildest collectible phenomena. It’s cute, sure. Quirky? Absolutely. But the rising costs and clout-chasing have turned it into a symbol of something bigger—and for many, something wrong.
Still, as long as the bids keep climbing, Labubu’s status as a cultural juggernaut isn’t slowing down. Just don’t be surprised if your next coffee shop chat involves someone trying to trade a figure for a house deposit.
TL;DR
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A first-gen, 131cm Labubu sold for 1.08 million yuan (USD 150K) in China on June 10
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Hosted by Yongle Auction, part of a live-streamed art toy event
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Weibo exploded with snarky and satirical takes, with many calling out hype culture and speculation
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Labubu, created by Kasing Lung, has become a global collector icon via Pop Mart
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Debate continues: Cute toy or capitalist trap?
Thoughts?