‘Labubu fever’ is real as POP MART UK has had to temporarily stop sales due to crazy queues – leaving fans distraught and some even claiming they’ve booked the day off work
With their mischievous little potato faces, Labubu dolls have become the latest craze for toy-obsessed shoppers. Now POP MART UK has had to temporarily halt sales of one of their most popular collections due to safety concerns caused by intense queues.
In an Instagram post on May 19, POP MART UK wrote: “Due to the increasing demand for our beloved Labubus, we’ve seen a significant rise in customer turnout on restock days – with long queues forming outside our stores and Roboshops. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone, we will temporarily pause all in-store and roboshop sales of THE MONSTERS plush toys until further notice.”
READ MORE: Labubu dolls are going viral – everything you need to know about the latest craze
Though they confirmed that online drops would continue as usual and urged customers to keep an eye out for new announcements to know when the next one would happen. They added: “We’re working hard behind the scenes to improve the shopping experience both in-store and online. Thank you for your continued support, patience and understanding.”
POP MART is a Chinese toy brand that opened its first European flagship store in London 2022. Since then, it’s become a hotspot to pick up collectable ‘designer’ toys – including Labubus. They’re all part of a series of furry dolls which are sold in “blind boxes”.
The toys have become popularised by YouTubers, social media influencers and celebrities – with Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Olivia Attwood being just some of the famous faces to have joined in on the trend. The hashtag ‘Labubu’ has over 1.4 million posts on TikTok. Over 2024, The Monsters IP (which includes Labubu) generated 3 billion yuan (£311,187,000), as reported by Time Magazine.
Then in April, Labubu released their Big Into Energy series, which completely sold out worldwide within a week. They are still available to buy from POP MART. It became the biggest collectibles release ever on resale platform StockX, with an average resale price of $208 (£155). That’s a 24 per cent increase when compared with its original retail price of $168 (£125), as reported by Vogue Business .
Unsurprisingly, Brits have been quick to pick up what’s been dubbed as “Labubu fever”. Queues for the toys have gone viral. On May 16, Birmingham Live reported dozens of fans queuing for eight hours outside the Bullring Pop Mart store.
But their popularity has now become their undoing. UK Lababu doll fans have been quick to share their distress over Labubu’s new announcement. “No stop it!!! I haven’t even got a SINGLE Labubu and wanted to go this Friday – I even booked a day off WORK only to read this. I’m so sad [right now],” one commenter wrote.
“I’m gutted!!! I am going to London at the weekend and I really wanted to get my first labubu!! Looks like I won’t be getting any (sad face),” another wrote. “How’s it gotten out of hand, makes no sense I just wanted a Labubu,” a third user added.
Some have even been waking up at the crack of dawn just to get their hands on one. “Omg no,” a user wrote, “my sister said she was gonna go tomorrow morning at 5:00 as well and get all three generations, I’m so sadddd.”
But other TikTokkers have been blaming the pause on sales on this kind of behaviour. One said: “People lining up at 5am is also one of the issues. Huge lines before the stores even open, it’s a safety issue.”
Some have also been pointing to the volume of resellers looking to make a profit from the toy drops. Under their Instagram announcement, one commenter wrote: “Happy to hear… please please find a solution for resellers buying all stock…and not all of us can queue early due to work.”