I remember the day the first cases of POP MART Have a Seat arrived at my shop. The buzz was already insane. A LABUBU with a vinyl face and a plush body? It felt like a weird, wonderful fever dream. Customers were blowing up my DMs. "Do you have them?" "Can I reserve a case?" "What's the secret!?"
It was chaos. The kind of good chaos we live for in the designer toy world.
But once the dust settled and I'd opened a few cases for myself and the shop, a more complicated picture emerged. This isn't your standard LABUBU release. And if you're thinking of jumping in, there are things you absolutely need to know that you won't find on the official Pop Mart site or an Amazon listing.
First Impressions: The Weird, Wonderful Feel of Vinyl-Plush
Let's get the most important thing out of the way. What does it feel like?
Holding one of The Monsters Have a Seat figures for the first time is a strange sensation. Your brain expects the solid, smooth weight of a vinyl toy, but your fingers sink into a soft, bean-bag-like body. The head is the classic LABUBU you know and love, hard, glossy vinyl with that signature toothy grin. But from the neck down, it's all fabric and stuffing.
The quality is… pretty good, actually. The plush isn't that cheap, scratchy material you find on carnival prizes. It's a soft, low-pile fabric that feels nice to the touch. The stitching is tight. But here's the first detail you won't see in stock photos: the connection point between the vinyl head and the plush body.It's secure, but I wouldn't recommend testing its limits by swinging it around.
Each figure comes with a little printed cardboard "seat." Honestly? It's a bit of a throwaway accessory. It's cute for a photo, but it's just folded cardstock. Most collectors I know, myself included, toss them and just sit the little guy directly on the shelf. The real star is the figure itself.
Can You Weigh the Boxes? The Million-Dollar Question
With every new blind box release, the forums light up with the same question: "Can we use the weight trick?" Collectors try to use sensitive scales to guess which figure is inside, hoping to snag the secret or avoid doubles.
For the Labubu Monster Have a Seat series, I can tell you with 100% certainty: don't waste your time.
I tried it. When my first shipment came in, I took a whole case of 6 and a precision jeweler's scale. The results were all over the place. The weight differences between the common figures were minuscule, often less than a single gram. Why? Because the majority of the weight is in the standardized vinyl head, and the plush bodies have slight, uncontrollable variations in stuffing and fabric. The difference between a Lychee and a Toffee is statistically insignificant.
Even the secret, Soy, doesn't have a tell-tale weight. It's the same size and basic construction. You have a better chance of winning the lottery than accurately guessing a "Have a Seat" figure by its weight. This is one series where you truly have to embrace the gamble of the blind box.
The Lineup: Hits, Misses, and the Aftermarket King
The standard set has six figures, each with a different color and expression.
* Soybean Milk (Soy): The secret. The chase. The ghost-like, translucent white figure. It's undeniably the star. The design is simple, clean, and has an ethereal quality the others don't. It's the one that drives the aftermarket crazy. * Lychee: The vibrant pink one. Unsurprisingly, this is one of the most popular regular figures. Anything pink and LABUBU tends to do well, and this is no exception. If you're looking for a specific color, our guide to the Pink Labubu buyer's guide might give you some ideas on other popular pink variants. * Toffee: A nice, neutral brown. It's a solid design, but often gets overlooked in favor of the brighter colors. * Green Bean: A soft, minty green. Another fan favorite. It's just a pleasant, calming color that looks great on a shelf. * Sea Salt: A cool, grayish-blue. This one is low-key one of my favorites. It's subtle and sophisticated. * Taro: A lovely lavender purple. This one and Lychee are probably the two most sought-after commons.
The designs are all strong, but the real story here is the price.
Real Talk: The "Labubu Take a Seat Price" Rollercoaster
This is where things get wild, and where you need to be careful. The labubu take a seat price is not a stable thing. It's a volatile, hype-driven market.
A single blind box retails for around $17-$18. A full case of 6 (which guarantees no duplicates) will run you about $105-$110. That's your baseline.
Now, let's talk aftermarket. Within 48 hours of the official US release, I saw listings for Soy, the secret, hitting $200 on StockX and eBay. That's more than a 10x markup on the per-box price. It was absurd. The price has since cooled off a bit, but it still regularly commands $120-$150.
The common figures are a different story. Right at release, people were paying $25-$30 for a specific common like Lychee or Taro just to complete their set. My advice? Don't do it. Wait. The hype always dies down. A few weeks after the initial frenzy, the prices for common figures almost always drop back to retail or just slightly above. You can often find people in Facebook groups or on Reddit willing to trade their doubles for one they need. Patience is your best friend in the blind box game.
If you're new to the world of LABUBU and want to understand what drives these prices, checking out a broader overview like The Ultimate Guide to LABUBU Dolls can provide some much-needed context on the brand's popularity.
How Does It Stack Up? Have a Seat vs. Other LABUBU Series
So, is this vinyl-plush hybrid better than a classic, all-vinyl LABUBU? It's not a simple yes or no. It's different.
Compared to a series like the Exciting Macaron Labubu, the "Have a Seat" figures feel less like a "collector's item" and more like a high-end toy. The Macarons are solid, hefty, and feel like little art pieces. You display them. The "Have a Seat" figures invite you to touch them, to squish them. They have a playful, tactile quality.
I've had customers who only collect the "Have a Seat" line because they love plushies. I've also had hardcore vinyl collectors who won't touch them because they don't see them as "true" designer toys. It really comes down to personal preference. They feel less "serious" than the all-vinyl series like the recent The Monsters x One Piece Labubu crossover, which is pure display art.
The existence of a V2 of this series also complicates things. Pop Mart released a second version, and if you're not careful, you might be buying the V1 when you want the V2, or vice versa. It's worth reading up on the differences, which we covered in our seller's guide to the V2 hype, to make sure you know what you're getting.
A Seller's Confession: The Dusty, Scuffed Truth
Okay, let me be brutally honest. As someone who has dozens of these figures in my personal collection and in my shop's inventory, there are two major downsides to this series that nobody talks about.
1. They are DUST MAGNETS. The soft plush body that makes them so charming is also their greatest weakness. If you display them on an open shelf, they will accumulate dust like you wouldn't believe. And unlike a vinyl figure that you can just wipe clean, getting dust out of the plush fibers is a pain. You can use a lint roller or compressed air, but it's a constant battle. I had a Sea Salt figure on my desk for a month, and by the end, it looked like it had been rolling around in an attic. If you're a pristine collector, you must display these in a closed case.
2. The Vinyl Faces Get Scuffed. This one surprised me. I had a customer send me a photo of their Lychee figure that had fallen off a shelf. It landed face-down on a hardwood floor, and the impact left a noticeable scuff mark on the vinyl nose. Because the body is soft and offers no protection, any fall is going to be a direct impact on the hard vinyl face. With a full vinyl figure, the body often absorbs some of the impact. Here, the face is the first and only point of contact. Be extra careful with where you place them.
This isn't to say they're bad. I love this series. But you need to go in with your eyes open. They require a little more care and a different display strategy than your other LABUBUs.
Our Take: So, Should You Grab a Seat?
After handling hundreds of these, selling them, and collecting them myself, here's my final verdict.
The POP MART Have a Seat series is a fantastic, innovative line that successfully bridges the gap between plushie lovers and designer toy collectors. It's playful, tactile, and undeniably cute.
You should buy this series if: * You love both plushies and vinyl toys and want the best of both worlds. * You enjoy the tactile, interactive nature of collecting and don't mind a toy that's meant to be handled. * You're looking for a more "fun" and less "serious" addition to your collection.
You should probably skip this series if: * You are a die-hard vinyl purist who values the weight and feel of a solid figure. * You hate dusting and want a low-maintenance collection. * You're primarily interested in investment value (outside of the secret, the commons don't appreciate much).
My honest advice? If you're on the fence, don't buy a whole case. Try to find an open-box common figure for a reasonable price first. See how you feel about the texture, the weight, and the upkeep. If you fall in love with it, then you can dive into the hunt for the whole set.
Com/collections/labubu) at PopNya. We're collectors just like you, and we're always happy to talk shop and help you find the perfect little monster to add to your family.
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