I need to be honest with you. The first time I saw a video of a full-blown scrum inside a Pop Mart, I wasn't surprised. Disappointed, maybe. A little worried for the state of the hobby. But not surprised.
This is the reality of collecting LABUBU right now.
What the news calls the labubu riots isn't an exaggeration. It's just another Tuesday for a hot new release. We're talking about queues forming at 5 AM, grown adults elbowing each other, and entire displays being cleared out in under sixty seconds. I've personally seen someone buy their legal limit, go outside, change their jacket, and get back in line hoping the staff wouldn't notice. It's wild.
But here's the thing: if you're searching for this topic, you're probably seeing two completely different stories, and it's confusing. On one hand, you have the store chaos. On the other, you might see pictures of LABUBU dolls at political protests.
They are not the same thing. And as someone who lives and breathes these little monsters, let's clear the air.
The "Riot" Everyone Is Talking About: The Store Frenzy
This is the one you see on TikTok. It's the pure, uncut hype that has defined the designer toy scene for the last year. When people talk about the labubu riots, they're talking about the physical chaos that erupts whenever a new series drops.
So why is this happening? It's not just because they're cute. It's a perfect storm of art, marketing, and economics.
Kasing Lung's designs are genuinely special. The mischievous-but-sweet look of LABUBU and his monster friends just connects with people. But the real fuel for the fire is Pop Mart's business model: the blind box. You don't know which of the 12 figures you're getting. And then there's the "secret" or "chase" figure, which might have a 1 in 144 chance of appearing.
This creates an instant treasure hunt. People aren't just buying a toy; they're buying a lottery ticket.
This model existed for years with other characters like Molly and Dimoo. But LABUBU hit a different nerve. The demand went vertical. The secondary market exploded. A standard blind box retails for about $15-$17. But the chase figure from a popular series? Or even just a regular but highly sought-after design? The prices get insane.
Let's take the Exciting Macaron series. The little Chestnut Cocoa figure, not even a secret, just a regular, was consistently selling for $80-$100 on the secondary market for months. People would buy a whole case of 12 boxes ($180 retail) just to get that one, and then sell the duplicates. When the potential profit on a single box is 5x the retail price, it's no longer a hobby for some people. It's a business. And that's when the pushing starts.
As a seller, this frenzy is a double-edged sword. On one hand, the hype is great for business. On the other, securing stock is a nightmare. We're competing with professional resellers who will hire people to stand in line at multiple stores. Pop Mart has tried to add purchase limits, but they are laughably easy to get around.
One thing I've noticed that you won't read in a news article: Pop Mart has subtly changed the way they shrink-wrap cases. The older cases had a looser wrap, and some people swore they could manipulate the case to feel for the weight and placement of the chase. The newer batches, especially for mega-hyped series like the recent One Piece crossover, have an incredibly tight, crisp shrink-wrap. It feels different. It's a small detail, but it feels like a deliberate move to combat tampering before the product even hits the shelf. It hasn't stopped the chaos, but it shows they're aware.
*The Other* Story: What "LABUBU ICE" Actually MeansOkay, this is where it gets interesting and where most articles miss the point. If you search for this topic, you will inevitably come across the keyword labubu ice**. You'll see images or videos of LABUBU dolls, sometimes holding tiny signs, at protests.
This has nothing to do with the store riots.
"ICE" in this context refers to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Over the past few years, a subculture of activists and supporters have started bringing their LABUBU figures to social justice rallies, including protests against ICE policies.
Why? It's a form of "plushie protesting" or using a beloved, innocent-looking character to draw attention to a serious issue. The juxtaposition is powerful: this cute, whimsical monster standing in for a human voice at a protest. It's a way for people to express their political stance through the lens of a community they belong to. The LABUBU becomes a silent, wide-eyed mascot for a cause.
So, when you see "LABUBU ICE," it's not about a new frosty-themed toy series. It's about a fascinating intersection of pop culture, collecting, and real-world activism. The people bringing LABUBU to a protest are not the same people shoving each other for a blind box. It's a completely different motivation, and it's a testament to how deeply these characters have embedded themselves in our culture.
It's a huge point of confusion for newcomers, and frankly, it's a perfect example of how weird the internet is. The same search term can lead you down a rabbit hole of capitalism-fueled chaos or one of grassroots political expression.
Real Talk: Is This Hype Good for the Hobby?
Look, I run PopNya. I sell these toys. The hype helps my bottom line, I can't deny it. But I was a collector first, and the collector in me is worried.
This level of frenzy is unsustainable. It prices out casual fans and kids, the people who are supposed to be the soul of the hobby. When a teenager can't get a single box because a reseller bought ten cases to flip online, the magic dies. It turns collecting into a cynical game of arbitrage.
We're seeing a bubble, plain and simple. The prices for some of these figures are divorced from reality. I've seen people drop $200 on a figure that was released three months ago, driven purely by FOMO. My advice? Don't do it. There will always be another "it" figure. The Have a Seat Labubu V2 series was hot for a minute, but now you can find most of them for reasonable prices. The hype moves on.
This is why I always tell new collectors to explore the back catalog. Don't just chase the newest, shiniest thing. There are so many amazing designs in older series that get overlooked in the current madness. Go browse the full LABUBU collection and find a design that genuinely speaks to you, not just the one everyone on TikTok is fighting over. You'll have a much better time and your wallet will thank you.
The frenzy around the Exciting Macaron Labubu was a turning point. It set a new standard for hype, and the market has been trying to catch its breath ever since.
A Seller's Confession: We Can't Keep Up
From my side of the counter, the riots have made life incredibly difficult. Getting enough stock of a new LABUBU series is harder than getting concert tickets. We place our orders months in advance, and we still might only get a fraction of what we asked for.
This leads to tough choices. Do we raise our prices to match the insane secondary market? Or do we keep them close to retail and sell out in seconds, leaving many customers disappointed?
At PopNya, we try to strike a balance. We price fairly, but we have to price in a way that allows us to stay in business and acquire the next hot release. It's a constant tightrope walk. We get emails every day from people desperate to find a specific figure, and it breaks my heart when I have to tell them we're sold out.
The chaos also fuels the market for fakes. When people can't get the real thing, they start looking for cheaper alternatives. I've written extensively about how to spot fakes, especially for popular series like the Macarons, because nothing is worse than paying a premium for a piece of junk plastic. The quality difference is massive, but in a blurry online photo, it can be tough to tell.
So, what can you do as a collector?
First, have a plan for drop days. Know the store's rules, show up with patience, and be prepared to walk away empty-handed. It's just a toy. Your safety and sanity are more important.
Second, find a trusted online source. Yes, like my store, but also others. Find a seller who is transparent about their pricing and sourcing. You might pay a little more than retail, but you're paying for the convenience and the guarantee of getting an authentic product without having to brave the crowds.
Third, connect with the community. Join a Discord or a Facebook group for collectors. You'll get tips, trade with real fans, and get a much better sense of a figure's true market value, away from the inflated prices on big platforms.
The LABUBU craze is real, and the "riots" are a symptom of that passion (and greed). It's a messy, fascinating, and sometimes frustrating time to be a collector. Whether you're in the queue at dawn or just trying to understand what all the fuss is about, just remember the point of it all: to own a piece of art that makes you smile. Don't let the chaos take that away.
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