I remember the exact moment I knew things had changed. It was a Tuesday, which is always a big shipment day here at PopNya. A fresh case of The Monsters "Let's Christmas" series arrived. I sliced open the master carton, pulled out the first blind box, and just… paused.
It felt wrong.
The box was lighter. The finish on the cardboard was different, less satin and more matte. And instead of the clean, sharp edges I was used to, there was a new, perforated pull-tab running along the top. My first thought wasn't "Oh, cool, an upgrade!" It was, "Did my supplier send me fakes?"
That was my introduction to the new era of labubu packaging. And if you're a fellow collector, you've probably had a similar moment of confusion in early 2024. Pop Mart quietly rolled out a massive change to their packaging across many lines, and LABUBU was front and center.
So, let's get into it. What's the real difference, why did they do it, and is it actually for the better? As someone who has handled thousands of these boxes, both old and new, I've got some thoughts.
The "Good Old Days": A Love Letter to the Old Box
For years, the labubu packaging box was a consistent, satisfying little brick of joy. It had a certain heft to it. The cardboard was thick, with a smooth, almost waxy finish that made the artwork pop. You knew you were holding a premium product.
The unboxing ritual was a multi-stage process: 1. Admire the box art. 2. Slice the clear plastic circle seals on the top and bottom flaps. 3. Pop open the top. 4. Slide out the black plastic tray. This was always a satisfying, snug fit. 5. Behold the contents: a foil-wrapped LABUBU, and a character card sealed in its own tiny, crinkly plastic sleeve.
That little plastic sleeve on the card? That was everything. It made the card feel like a collectible in its own right, like a rare trading card. The whole experience felt substantial. It felt like you were protecting your investment, even if your investment was just a $15 vinyl monster.
From a seller's perspective, these old boxes were fantastic. They were sturdy. They could take a bit of a beating in the mail without getting crushed, which meant fewer customer complaints about damaged packaging. They stacked perfectly. They just felt like quality.
The Great 2024 Packaging Overhaul
Then came the change. The new labubu toy packaging is a completely different beast.
Let's break down the specific changes, because they're not just cosmetic.
The Outer Box: The new boxes often feel slightly thinner and have a more porous, matte finish. The biggest change is the integrated "zipper" or perforated pull-tab on the top. No more knife-slicing the little circle seals. You just pull the tab and the top rips open. It's definitely faster, but man, is it less elegant. It feels like opening a box of crackers.
The Inner Tray: This is the most dramatic change. The black, molded plastic tray is gone. In its place is a new, molded tray made of a light grey, egg-carton-like paper pulp. The figure and its card now nestle into this paper tray.
The Character Card: The card is now loose in its little paper compartment. No more protective plastic sleeve. This one personally hurts my collector's soul. I've already seen cards from new boxes with slightly dinged corners straight from the factory.
The Foil Bag: The foil bag containing the figure itself seems mostly unchanged, thankfully. It's still that same mysterious, crinkly silver pouch that holds all the magic.
So why the massive shift? Pop Mart's official line, and the one most blogs repeat, is sustainability. And look, I get it. The old packaging had a lot of single-use plastic: the two circle seals, the entire inner tray, and the card sleeve. The new design drastically reduces that, which is objectively a good thing for the planet. I can't and won't argue with that.
But I'm also a business owner and a cynic. And I can tell you that molded paper pulp is significantly cheaper to produce and lighter to ship than molded plastic. A few grams saved per box doesn't sound like much, but when you're shipping millions of units worldwide, that adds up to a massive cost saving. So, is it an eco-friendly move? Yes. Is it also a cost-cutting move disguised as an eco-friendly move? Almost certainly.
Real Talk: Is the New Packaging Actually Better?
Honestly? No. Not for the collector experience.
Yes, it's better for the environment, and that's important. But the unboxing experience has been downgraded. The new boxes feel less premium. The satisfying "thunk" of the plastic tray is gone, replaced by the whispery scrape of paper. The thrill of peeling the plastic off the character card is gone.
More importantly for people buying online, the new boxes are more fragile. We've had to increase the amount of bubble wrap we use at PopNya for shipping single boxes because the new design is more prone to getting crushed or dented in transit. The old boxes could practically be used for home construction; these new ones need a little more TLC.
And let's talk about the "shake and weigh" tricks. For years, people have sworn they can identify figures by weighing the box or shaking it to hear how the parts rattle. The weight trick has always been mostly a myth, the variance in manufacturing is often greater than the weight difference between figures. But with the old plastic tray, you could sometimes get a clue from a "shake test." A figure with a loose accessory might make a distinct sound.
The new paper tray kills that completely. It holds the figure so snugly (and is itself so soft) that everything is dead silent. You can shake a new box all day and you will hear nothing. This is great for Pop Mart's blind box business model, but another little bit of the community "game" is gone.
A Seller's Guide: How Packaging Can Help You Spot a Fake LABUBU
This is where understanding the packaging becomes a superpower. The counterfeit market is getting scarily good, but the packaging is often where they cut corners. If you're buying from a third-party seller, scrutinize the box.
1. Check the Date: This is the most important tip. Know when the series you're buying was released. If you're buying a series from 2023 (like The Monsters Mischievous series) and it's in the new 2024-style paper-tray packaging, that's a gigantic red flag. Fakers often use the newest generic packaging for older series. 2. Print Quality: Look at the box art with a critical eye. On authentic boxes, the colors are saturated but crisp. The lines are sharp. On many fakes, the printing looks slightly blurry, like a low-resolution image that's been blown up. The colors might be too washed out or overly dark. 3. The Perforation: On the new boxes, look at the pull-tab. Pop Mart's perforation is clean and precise. On fakes, it's often messy, uneven, or looks like it was done by hand. It might tear poorly or not be fully cut through. 4. The QR Code Sticker: Every official Pop Mart box has a sticker with a QR code for their anti-counterfeit system. But fakers have started copying these stickers! The key is not just the presence of the sticker, but its quality. An official sticker is well-printed and applied neatly. A fake one might be crooked, bubbly, or have fuzzy text. Scratching the silver part should reveal a clean, clear code. If it's messy or smudged, be suspicious. This is a huge issue, and it's why I wrote a whole post on The Honest Guide to Buying a Labubu Keychain (Without Getting Scammed), because the same principles apply. 5. Cardboard Feel: This is harder to judge from a photo, but in person, it's a dead giveaway. Real Pop Mart cardboard has a specific density and finish. Fakes often use cheaper, flimsier card stock that feels light and cheap.
The Big Question: To Keep the Box or Not?
As a collector, I'm a "box keeper." For me, the labubu packaging box is part of the art. The box, the card, and the figure together make a complete set. If you ever plan to sell or trade your figures, keeping the original box and card is non-negotiable. A figure without its box and card can lose 30-50% of its resale value, especially for rarer designs.
I've seen people get creative with storing them. Some flatten the boxes carefully. Others use protective plastic cases to display the box behind the figure. If you're serious about protecting your collection, investing in proper storage is key, which is a topic I've gotten way too many questions about, leading me to write about The Unspoken Truth About the LABUBU Case.
But hey, if you're just in it for the love of the toy and have no plans to sell, and you're running out of space? Don't let anyone make you feel bad for tossing the box. Your collection, your rules. The joy is in the little monster itself. The packaging is just the vessel that brought it to you.
The packaging for different LABUBU products can also vary wildly. The standard blind box is one thing, but the packaging for the mini keychains is a whole different world, with its own set of debates, like the one I covered in the great Labubu bag charm smackdown.
At the end of the day, the packaging is just the wrapper. The real magic is that moment you tear open the foil and see which little monster you got. The new packaging, for all my grumbling, hasn't changed that. It's a little less satisfying, a little more fragile, and a little less premium-feeling, but the thrill of the pull is still there.
And as a seller, it just means we have to be a little more careful when we pack your orders. It's a small price to pay to make sure your new friend arrives safely. If you're ready to test your luck with the new packaging, you can always browse our full LABUBU collection and see what you find.
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