The first time a customer emailed PopNya asking for the "black labubu doll," I had to ask, "Which one?"
They sent back a blurry screenshot from a TikTok video. Ah. That one. The black Macaron keychain plush.
The confusion is totally understandable. In the last year, LABUBU has exploded from a niche designer toy into a mainstream phenomenon, and one specific design has led the charge: a grumpy-looking black bunny-eared monster with a fluffy texture. But here's the thing only collectors and sellers really know: there isn't just one black LABUBU. And the one everyone is looking for might not be the one you should actually buy.
As someone who packs and ships these little guys every day, I've seen the hype, the insane price swings, and the flood of fakes that followed. So let's clear the air. Let's talk about the different black LABUBUs, what they're worth, and how to not get ripped off.
The Main Event: The Viral Black Macaron Plush
This is the one. The keychain plush from The Monsters Exciting Macaron series. It's the face that launched a thousand TikToks. When this series dropped, it wasn't the black one (officially named "Soy Milk") that was the designated "chase" or "secret." It was just one of six regular designs.
Then social media happened.
I watched it unfold in real-time. One week, we were selling the plushies for their retail price, around $28-$30. They were popular, but it was normal. The next week, my inbox was flooded. "Do you have the black one?" "Restock the Soy Milk Macaron!" On secondary markets like eBay and StockX, the price went vertical. I personally saw listings jump from $40 to $80 to over $150 in less than a month. It was wild.
These labubus peluches (plushies) became an overnight sensation, and the black one was the undisputed king. Some people even started calling it the bulala doll, which seems to be a regional nickname or a cute misnomer that stuck.
But let's be real for a second. Is the quality worth $150? Ngl, no. The quality is perfectly fine for a POP MART plush. The material is soft, the stitching is clean, and the little keychain clip is solid. It's a good product. But it's not a handmade, artisanal, '$150 good' product. You're paying for the hype. You're paying for the TikTok virality.
The key to getting a real one is knowing what to look for. An authentic labubu peluche original has a very specific set of tags attached to it, including one with Kasing Lung's art and the POP MART logo. The fakes often mess this up, the paper is too thin, the printing is blurry, or the font is just slightly off. It's a small detail, but it's a big tell. If you're new to the hobby, our ultimate guide to LABUBU dolls can help you spot the basics of what makes a figure legit.
The Vinyl Counterpart You Probably Didn't Know Existed
Here's a little secret for you.The Exciting Macaron series also came in a blind box vinyl figure format."
It's basically the miniature vinyl version of the black plush.
These little monitos labubu (a term of endearment I hear from our Spanish-speaking customers, meaning "little monkey dolls") are the heart and soul of the designer toy scene. They're the classic labubus muñecos (LABUBU dolls) that people collect and display.
And here's the best part: "Toffee" is a regular figure in the set. It's not a secret or a hidden chase figure. This means its value is nowhere near the plushie's. While the black plush was hitting absurd prices, you could (and still can) find the Toffee vinyl figure for maybe $15-$25 on collector marketplaces. It's the exact same grumpy expression and color scheme, just in a different material and size.
I've had so many customers come to PopNya looking for the black plush, and when I show them the Toffee vinyl, they're thrilled. It's the perfect way to get the design you love without participating in the hype bubble. The matte finish on the vinyl is fantastic, and it has a nice, solid weight to it. Honestly, I think it displays better than the plush keychain anyway. The Macaron series is full of these kinds of market quirks, which is something I covered in more detail in my honest Macaron buyer's guide.
What on Earth is "LABUBU B"?
I see "labubu b" pop up in our store's search data constantly, and it's one of the great little mysteries of the LABUBU search world. So what is it?
After months of seeing this search term, I have a theory. There is no official character or series called "LABUBU B." My best guess is that it's one of two things:
1. A typo for "black," as in "Labubu black." 2. A misunderstanding from other toy lines. Some collectibles, like Bearbricks, are organized into series with letters (e.g., Series 45, Series 46). People new to LABUBU might assume a similar naming convention exists.
So, if you're searching for "Labubu B," you're probably looking for a black LABUBU. It's not a specific, rare figure. It's just a quirk of how people are searching for these toys as they enter the mainstream.
It's also worth noting there are other dark-colored LABUBUs. The Monsters Art series has a beautiful, almost entirely black LABUBU holding a paintbrush. Zimomo, LABUBU's cousin with the zipper mouth, often comes in black colorways that are super popular. So if you're just looking for a dark, moody monster, your options are wider than just the Macaron. You can usually find a great variety by browsing a dedicated LABUBU collection.
Real Talk: Let's Talk About the Fakes
Okay, let's get serious. Because of the black Macaron's viral fame, the fakes are everywhere. I'm talking AliExpress, Temu, dodgy eBay listings, and shady Amazon sellers. They are an absolute plague. As a seller, it's infuriating to see people get scammed.
If a deal seems too good to be true, it is. A brand new black Macaron plush for $25 today? It's fake. 100%. The cost of the real materials, licensing, and packaging makes that price impossible for a legitimate product.
But fakes are getting better, and sometimes it's hard to tell from a photo. So here are two dead giveaways I've learned from handling dozens of real ones and seeing countless photos of fakes from customers.
The Ultimate Fake-Spotting Tip #1: The Ears. This is the big one. On an authentic Macaron plush, the ears are stuffed firmly. They have a distinct, engineered curve to them, and they hold their shape perfectly. On over 90% of the fakes I've seen, the ears are a floppy, sad mess. They are under-stuffed, flimsy, and often point straight up or just flop over. It's the most consistent manufacturing shortcut the counterfeiters take. Once you see the difference, you can't unsee it.
The Ultimate Fake-Spotting Tip #2: The Keychain Clip. This is my personal pet peeve. The official clip is a custom-molded piece of hardware. It's a heavy-feeling, matte black metal with a smooth, satisfying spring action. It feels premium. The fakes use a generic, off-the-shelf clip. It's usually a cheap, glossy black metal that's super lightweight. It feels like it would snap off your bag in a week. The shape is also usually more rounded and less defined than the official one.
These details might seem small, but they are the difference between a genuine collectible and a cheap knock-off. The same principles apply to other popular series, like the pink-themed ones, which have their own world of fakes to navigate. If you're interested, I wrote a whole guide on the pink LABUBU variants that touches on this.
Our Take: The Seller's Verdict
So, after all that, which black LABUBU should you get?
Here's my honest opinion as a seller and a collector: The black Macaron plush is overhyped and, on the secondary market, overpriced. It's a perfect storm of social media virality driving a price that has detached from the product's actual quality or rarity. It's cute, for sure. But the frenzy was pure hype.
If you genuinely love the black, grumpy design, I strongly recommend you hunt down the "Toffee" vinyl figure from the blind box series instead. You get the same fantastic Kasing Lung design for a fraction of the price ($15-$25 vs. $80+). You're also far less likely to get scammed by a fake, as the vinyl figures haven't been counterfeited as heavily as the viral plush.
For the price of one hyped-up Macaron plush on the resale market, you could buy an entire case of the vinyl blind boxes and get a whole collection of labubus muñecos to display. That, to me, is a much better investment in the hobby.
At the end of the day, collecting should be fun. Don't let FOMO (fear of missing out) push you into overpaying for a trendy item. There are so many amazing figures in the world of LABUBU. Take your time, do your research, and you'll find the perfect little monster for your shelf.com/collections/labubu) we have in stock to see the variety for yourself.
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