I need to be honest with you. The first time a customer emailed PopNya asking if we had the "stick labubu" in stock, I had no idea what they were talking about.
I typed back, "Could you mean a specific series? Maybe a blind box figure?"
They replied with a screenshot. It was a picture of a fluffy, dandelion-yellow LABUBU, with its signature buck teeth and mischievous grin, perched on a clear acrylic rod and attached to a designer handbag.
"Oh," I thought. "That's not a thing."
Except, it was. And it was about to become the biggest thing in the designer toy world for a hot minute, causing chaos for collectors, sellers, and anyone just trying to get their hands on a cute monster plush.
As someone who lives and breathes this stuff, let me pull back the curtain on the whole "stick labubu" phenomenon. Because it's a perfect case study in how a simple toy can become a cultural icon overnight, driven by celebrity, social media, and a bit of DIY creativity.
First, Let's Get This Straight: There Is No "Stick LABUBU"
Let's clear this up right away. Pop Mart does not sell a product called the "stick labubu." Kasing Lung, the brilliant artist behind The Monsters, did not design a LABUBU that comes pre-impaled on a stick. It's a fan-made, community-driven trend.
The term "stick labubu" is a nickname that bubbled up from social media. It describes a very specific look: a LABUBU plush keychain, mounted on a clear stick, used as a bag charm or accessory. It's a "mod," a customization that collectors started doing themselves.
And for a while, it felt like it was always, always the same LABUBU. The yellow labubu doll.
This specific plush is the key to the whole story. It's officially from "The Monsters Sweet" series of plush blind boxes, often just called the Macaron series by fans. It was released a while back, and it was just one of six regular colors plus a secret. It was cute, sure. But it wasn't the star of the show. Not at first.
I remember stocking them at PopNya. They were about $15-20, a standard price for a Pop Mart plush pendant. They sold steadily. The pink one was popular. The taro purple was my personal favorite. The yellow one was… just yellow. It sold fine.
Then, in early 2024, everything changed. Lisa from BLACKPINK was photographed with the yellow Macaron LABUBU on her bag.
And the entire market lost its collective mind.
The Great Yellow LABUBU Price Explosion of 2024
I am not exaggerating when I say it was immediate and insane.
One day, the yellow labubu doll was a $15 keychain I had a few of in my inventory. The next day, my DMs were a warzone. I had hundreds of messages. "DO YOU HAVE YELLOW LABUBU?" "HOW MUCH FOR YELLOW?" "I WILL PAY ANYTHING."
The few I had sold out in minutes. Then the secondary market took over.
I watched in a state of morbid fascination as the price for this one specific plush, which retailed for under $20, skyrocketed. First it was $50. Then $80. At the peak of the frenzy, I saw verified sales on platforms like StockX and eBay for over $150. For a 6-inch polyester plush.
It was a classic case of hype economics. A global superstar gives a product a subtle nod, and suddenly it's not just a toy anymore. It's a status symbol. It's a piece of pop culture. And the price inflates to match the newfound clout, not the actual item.
For sellers like me, it was a nightmare. We couldn't get them. Pop Mart's official channels were sold out instantly. Any stock we did manage to find was already at an inflated wholesale price. We had to explain to dozens of new, would-be collectors every single day that no, we didn't have the yellow one, and no, we didn't know when we would.
It was frustrating because it brought so many people into the LABUBU world, but for the "wrong" reasons. They didn't know about Kasing Lung's incredible art or the lore of The Monsters. They just wanted the thing the celebrity had. Which is fine! But it created a massive, frustrating bottleneck for everyone.
But… Why the Stick?
So where does the "stick" part come in? This is actually the most clever part of the whole trend.
The Macaron LABUBU plushes are pendants. They come with a metal clasp to hook onto things. But if you've ever hung a plush keychain on a bag you use every day, you know the risks. It gets dirty. It gets snagged. The clasp can break.
The stick solves all of this.
By mounting the LABUBU on a clear acrylic rod (which people were buying from Amazon or craft stores), and then attaching the stick to the bag, you achieve a few things:
1. Protection: The plush is elevated away from the surface of the bag, keeping it cleaner. 2. Visibility: It stands out more. It's not just dangling; it's being presented. It turns your bag into a little art display. 3. The Look: Honestly, it just looks cool. It has a "specimen in a museum" vibe that's really unique. It's a statement.
It's a brilliant little piece of fan ingenuity. It took a standard product and, through a simple modification, turned it into a whole new aesthetic.
The Inevitable Downside: Fakes Are EVERYWHERE
When a $15 item starts selling for $150, you know what comes next. The fakes.
The market became absolutely flooded with counterfeit yellow LABUBU plushes. And some of them are scarily convincing if you don't know what you're looking for. This is where being a hands-on collector and seller really matters, because I've seen the good, the bad, and the truly awful fakes.
If you're determined to hunt down a yellow labubu doll, you need to be careful. After all, the only thing worse than paying $150 for a plush is paying $150 for a fake plush. I've written before about how to spot fake Lafufu and general Pop Mart fakes, and those rules apply here.
Here's my personal checklist for this specific plush:
* The Tag: The official Pop Mart paper tag has a certain thickness and a very clean, crisp print quality. Fakes often have flimsy paper, slightly blurry text, or colors that are a bit off. The real tag has a specific texture. * The Fabric: The authentic Macaron LABUBU has a unique, slightly "crunchy" but soft feel. It's not minky soft like a Jellycat. Many fakes use a cheaper, shinier, and overly smooth material. The yellow color on fakes is also often a bit too bright or has a greenish tint. * The Face: This is the biggest tell. Look at the embroidery. On a real LABUBU, the black outlines of the eyes and mouth are tight, clean, and consistent. On fakes, you'll often see sloppy stitching, inconsistent line thickness, or the eyes might be slightly different sizes or shapes. The placement of the two little teeth is also crucial, fakes often get the spacing wrong. * The Clasp: The official hardware is a sturdy, branded metal clasp. Fakes often use cheap, lightweight, unbranded hardware that feels flimsy.
Seriously, be careful. If a deal seems too good to be true in the current market, it is. There is no secret stash of cheap, authentic yellow Macaron LABUBUs.
Real Talk: My Honest Opinion
Okay, let me just say it.
The yellow Macaron LABUBU is overhyped and, at this point, not worth the secondary market price.
There. I said it.
Is it cute? Yes, absolutely. Was it a fun moment for the culture? For sure. But paying ten times the retail price for it is madness. You are not paying for a better-quality toy. You are paying for hype. And hype, by its nature, fades.
What's frustrating is that there are SO many other amazing LABUBU plushes and figures out there that are just as wonderful and are completely ignored in the mad dash for this one yellow guy. The entire "Let's Checkmate" plush pendant series is fantastic. The quality is arguably even better than the Macarons, with cool textures and details. The knight and the king are incredible.
Even within the Macaron series, the other colors are right there! And they cost a fraction of the price. You can buy the entire rest of an authentic set for less than the price of one hyped yellow one.
My advice as a seller and a collector? Don't chase the hype. Explore the incredible world Kasing Lung has built. If you're new to this, please check out the wider LABUBU collection. Find the one that speaks to you, not the one that's trending on TikTok. Maybe you're a Zimomo person. Maybe a Tycoco fan. The universe is huge. Don't let the algorithm narrow your vision to a single yellow plush.
The "stick labubu" trend is a fun, creative expression of love for a character. And I love that. But you can put any LABUBU on a stick. You can start your own trend. Find a LABUBU that makes you smile, grab an acrylic rod, and make it your own. That, to me, is the true spirit of collecting. Not just buying what's popular, but creating something that's uniquely yours.
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