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Refinery29
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Refinery29
Thieving, Reselling & Stalking: The Lengths We're Going To For Labubus
Labubus popped up seemingly overnight. Though not a new toy, their mainstream popularity has suddenly skyrocketed. Since a friend pointed them out to me, I've suddenly noticed them attached to several people's handbags on the Tube — both men and women — and even heard a story of a woman snatching and running away with a person's Labubu on a busy road in east London. It isn't easy to get your hands on one the legal way. Pop Mart, the Chinese toy company who sells the plush monsters designed by Kasing Lung, recently had to pull Labubu stock from its stores due to ' safety issues ' as people were fighting over them. Since being reintroduced to stores, I've heard anecdotally that any available stock disappears within 10 minutes of the store opening time. Although the toys are typically sold for 50 yuan in China (equivalent to just over $7), the scarcity of them has driven up prices through resellers. This month, a human-sized Labubu sold at auction for over $150,000, and a limited edition release went for over $31,000. Celebrities are getting their hands on the toys too, including actress Emma Roberts who posted an excitable unboxing video. Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Blackpink's Lisa also all own them. At a time when we're constantly talking about high living costs and a poor job market, have we all gone mad? This might be another case of the lipstick effect, in a fuzzy monster form, a theory that during times of financial hardship, people seek out small inexpensive pleasures (historically, lipstick). But the kicker is that Labubus don't feel so inexpensive anymore. The time, effort, and strategic planning to get your hands on one makes them costly in more ways than one. 'I'm honestly a little embarrassed to say this, but I've spent well over $500 on them,' says Ethan Melillo, 32, from Rhode Island. He's been collecting Labubus for a month, and now owns 26. 'I kept seeing them on TikTok and was honestly confused at first because I didn't even know what they were,' he says. 'They reminded me a lot of the Furby craze from the late '90s and early 2000s. As more content creators started showing them off, I figured I might as well get one too. My first was a Coca-Cola Labubu that I bought on Pop Mart. I think what draws people into the trend is the exclusivity because it's really based on luck when you're trying to get one from the Pop Mart website.' Melillo has never bought from a reseller, given the hiked up prices. He sticks to Pop Mart and TikTok Live events. 'It's taken a lot of effort to get the ones I want, especially since I'm not just competing with thousands of other collectors, but also with bots that snap them up just to resell.' So why go to all that hassle for a toy? For Melillo, it's about nostalgia. 'It reminds me of collecting Pokémon cards as a kid. It's also been a really fun thing for my wife and me to do together. We open them up as a little activity, and some of them now live on my bookshelf or pop up in my social media posts. A few are used as accessories on my wife's purse.' He thinks it's time to slow down on buying more, but he does have his eye on the 'secret' editions from sets. Secret ones, for those of us less acquainted with the ins and outs of the Labubu world, are rare collectables usually found in blind boxes. They're so rare, Melillo tells me, that you have a 1-in-72 chance of getting one. 'But I'm not about to buy hundreds of boxes just for a shot at one. I'll stick to the thrill of the hunt.' Some people have been onto Labubus since before the trend took off. Hannah Gumbley, 26, from London, started collecting the toys last year after going into a Pop Mart store near the city centre for the first time. 'I've always been a lover of trinkets and cute collectibles, collecting Sanrio and Sylvanian Families from a young age. Something about Labubus spoke to me. I think it was something about the fact they were kinda creepy and kinda cute that I loved,' Gumbley says. She couldn't buy one that day as they were sold out, so she went to eBay. 'Naively, I didn't realize at the time that even then there was a huge market of 'lafufus' [fake versions] and accidentally bought one. Since then I have learnt my lesson and only brought them from Pop Mart stores.' Now, her collection stands at 12, including some special editions. They hang from her bags, and she picks which one to use so it will match her outfit. It's about self-expression. In total, she's spent over £200 ($275) on them, avoiding reseller prices. 'When I first started collecting they were much easier to get a hold of but since the boom I haven't been able to get my hands on any, only getting the Big Into Energy series this week because my friend had won the raffle and we shared a box,' Gumbley says. She has more special editions and secret ones on her shopping list, including the Singapore exclusive Hide and Seek mermaid, the Mokoko Close to Sweet, and the Wacky Mart Tempura Prawn. 'A must!!,' she adds. 'I think my hunt to complete my Labubu collection will never be finalized.' For the beginner collector, there are plenty of lafufus to avoid. Emmeline Roane, 30, from Philadelphia, bought her first legit one in May, then a second in June. She already collected toys and when she saw the hype on social media around Labubus, she knew there had to be a new branch to her toy collection. The first one cost $60 (bought in a mall in San Francisco's Japantown) and the second was $45 (found on Facebook from a seller in Philadelphia). 'It's a bit of a challenge to find real ones. Resellers buy them up and resell them for more via Facebook Marketplace or some stores in Chinatown [in Philadelphia] sell them,' Roane says. Despite that, it's still fun for her. 'I love that when I wear them out, people have so many questions about them and say it makes them feel more inclined to accessorize with funky toys.' However, Roane won't be buying any more. Two is enough as she tends to collect one to three of a toy type. Her advice for people wanting to avoid fakes is to pay attention to whether they're being sold out of the box. 'But sometimes they're made to look like real ones in the box, too. It's a gamble if you don't know how to authenticate them. I check by using my Pop Mart app and scanning the QR code on the box.' Not everyone is out to collect them for keeps, though. Kelly, 32, from Macao, has been reselling Labubus since the start of this year. Inspiration struck after she waited in a long queue for them at a pop-up store with friends. 'I realized that I need to queue for that stuff! So I guess, if I already queued for my friend, why don't I get more and sell to others who didn't come and queue? One of my friends was doing this already, so we established a 'partnership'. She is the one to get customers online, and I'm the one who queues and gets the Labubus.' The duo resell them on Rednote, Xianyu (a secondhand platform in China) and Carousel (in Hong Kong). For the latest Labubu series, people are willing to pay more than double their cost, she says, and because she sells them in a boxset, people have a chance at getting a 'secret' one, which is more expensive. This means she can up the price on her boxsets. In terms of pounds, she can often make as much as $140 in profit from one sale, especially if it's a rare edition. It's getting hard for her to continue selling so much because of how difficult it is now, compared with the start of the year, to buy them. 'It's time-consuming, and most of the time when I get to the store, there is already a long queue or products are sold out.' Kelly has resorted to Pop Mart's 'online lucky draw'. She has 10 accounts to maximize her chances of winning. How long we'll care about Labubus for remains to be seen, but for now, the craze is full-throttle. Guess what: After starting this piece thinking the whole thing was ridiculous, I now kind of want one, too.
CNET
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
DJ Furby Elongates the Classic Toy With a Literal Glow Up
Hasbro is launching a new type of Furby Tuesday, with an elongated design that makes it part cat, part worm and part DJ. The $70 DJ Furby is three times the size of a standard Furby, and the creature's body includes a light display along its body that can be used for various games. After unboxing the DJ Furby, it was immediately obvious to me that the wormlike body emphasizes the animatronic toy's resemblance to a cat more than ever. It can easily sit around my shoulder, and it looks like a pet when I set it on a couch at CNET's New York office. DJ Furby has more than a passing resemblance to the "long Furby," which are fan-made creations that place a standard Furby into an elongated body. When I asked Hasbro if the DJ Furby drew inspiration from these, the company noted that they knew a portion of the Furby fanbase would appreciate the look. "DJ Furby is a great addition to the Furby family, and we are excited about the innovation and creative play we've brought to this product. We are always listening to our fans, and we know that they will be excited about the new design as well," Hasbro said in a comment. The DJ Furby's longer body makes it more catlike and wormlike than ever. Mike Sorrentino/CNET Much like the standard Furby, the DJ Furby is a chatterbox that immediately gets talking once you load its hidden battery box with four AA batteries, which require a Philips head screwdriver to install. The DJ Furby has colorful lights all over its body, with the most located along its stomach, for a variety of games. Given my past experiences playing with cats, being invited by this catlike creature to play with its stomach almost gave me pause. Real cats typically don't like to have their stomachs touched. But in the case of DJ Furby, I flipped it onto its back in order to play a Simon-like memory game, pressing colors in the order they appear. The DJ Furby has a total of 20 games, and it'll constantly offer activities while telling jokes for as long as you give it attention. As per the name, the DJ Furby also allows for kids to create custom music, and the creature's lights will sync to the beat of the music. The DJ Furby includes several activities that involve pressing the lights on its stomach. Mike Sorrentino/CNET While DJ Furby doesn't have an "off" switch, it does get sleepy and becomes quiet if you leave it alone for about 90 seconds. The "review unit" I was provided for this DJ Furby was the Rainbow edition, which launches alongside a checkered Neon Star edition. There are also smaller DJ Furblets that cost $13 each, which have a similar catlike body but come in a more travel-friendly size. The DJ Furby and DJ Furblets are available for preorder Tuesday, and officially go on sale July 15.
Miami Herald
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘Terrified' mama dog came to shelter with 8 pups. Now, she gets second chance
A mama dog with eight puppies was 'terrified' — and now, she gets a second chance. After all of Polly's pups were adopted from a Florida shelter, she finally has a home of her own. 'We continue to get amazing updates from her family on her progress,' Peyton Davis, marketing manager for the Humane Society of Pinellas, told McClatchy News in a June 16 email. 'Her progress was slow in the beginning, but her family had been determined to never give up on her.' The heartwarming adoption came after Polly landed at the shelter in March. At the time, she was 'underweight, recovering from heartworms, and terrified,' the humane society wrote in its email and in a Facebook post. 'Polly was extremely timid and shy,' Davis wrote. 'She took a while to warm up to new people. She was quite fearful of the world around her.' Polly had arrived at the shelter with her eight puppies, who all bear names of toys: Barbie, Beyblade, Bratz, Furby, Game Boy, Hot Wheels, Lego and Tamagotchi. The babies were weaned, so they got ready to go to new homes. 'While her puppies were quickly adopted, Polly needed something more — time, patience, and a whole lot of love,' the animal organization wrote. 'Our team never rushed her. We celebrated the tiniest milestones — like taking a few steps outside or sniffing a new friend.' Then one day, a couple saw Polly on the shelter's website and 'felt a spark.' At the shelter, they were warned that Polly might be hesitant to come close, but the pair still wanted to meet her. 'Every step of the way, they let Polly take the lead,' Davis wrote. 'They brought blankets and toys that smelled like them and their home to get her comfortable with their presence, even when they weren't here. They brought her favorite treats, too!' For weeks, the couple kept visiting the shelter to bond with Polly. Eventually the pair adopted her, kicking off their next chapter together on May 23. 'When Polly finally went home, our work didn't end,' the shelter wrote. 'We checked in regularly, helped troubleshoot routines, and celebrated alongside her new family as Polly bloomed. Because of this partnership, Polly nearly became a new dog — from frozen in fear to zoomies around the yard and snuggles at bedtime.' The humane society is in Clearwater, west of Tampa.
Scottish Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
My mum saved all my McDonald's Happy Meal toys – they're better than today's, people say I've ‘unlocked their childhood'
Plus, what toy is currently available from Maccies in the deal TOY STORY My mum saved all my McDonald's Happy Meal toys – they're better than today's, people say I've 'unlocked their childhood' A WOMAN has amazed people by revealing the staggering amount of McDonald's Happy Meal toys she collected as a child. Gemma Leigh said her mum kept each and every one of the 'free' items that came with the fast food boxes. 3 Gemma shared how her mum has kept every one of her McDonald's Happy Meal toys from childhood Credit: TikkTok/gemmacauson 3 Many people felt nostalgic when they saw the Furby toys Credit: TikTok/gemmacauson On her @gemmacauson account, she showed her floor completely covered with the tiny toys. From mini Furbies and Disney figurines, to the iconic Beany Baby animals, her collection was very nostalgic for many viewers who remembered them from their childhood. Gemma wrote: "My mum saved all my old McDonald's toys from my childhood - so now my kids get to play with decent McDonald's toys not cardboard tat.' Many people were flabbergasted at the sheer volume of toys, and queried how often she had been taken to McDonald's as a child. One social media user commented: 'damm was every day a McDonald's dinner day?' She shared: 'I could make approximately 792 of these videos, I have THOUSANDS. 'Just once a week, but my mum always brought me the full collection, and if they had one out of stock, they would save it for me for the next week.' Many people asked how old she was, as they recognised many of the collectible toys. One person said: 'Are you 30? This was my EXACT collection.' She replied that she is 31, to which another viewer added: 'You are the luckiest girl in the world!!! I remember sooo many of them, I'm 30. The best memories.' McDonald's launches brand-new burger featuring never-before-seen sauce A third person wrote: 'Oh... My childhood... *cries*.' And one commented: 'This ladies and Gentlemans, this is a millenial treasure!!!' Lots of people pointed out that she could make a lot of money if she was to sell her limited-edition toys. One said: 'Possibly worth a fortune now for some collectors.' 3 Currently the Happy Meal toys are Pokemon Credit: Getty McDonald's Happy Meals - which cost around £3.89 - include toys or books that are typically themed around movies, TV shows, or other popular franchises. Typically a Happy Meal includes a main item (like a cheeseburger, hamburger, or four Chicken McNuggets), fries or carrot sticks, a drink, and the toy. Currently Dragon-type Pokémon are included in the boxes.
The Irish Sun
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
My mum saved all my McDonald's Happy Meal toys – they're better than today's, people say I've ‘unlocked their childhood'
A WOMAN has amazed people by revealing the staggering amount of McDonald's Happy Meal toys she collected as a child. Gemma Leigh said her mum kept each and every one of the 'free' items that came with the fast food boxes. Advertisement 3 Gemma shared how her mum has kept every one of her McDonald's Happy Meal toys from childhood Credit: TikkTok/gemmacauson 3 Many people felt nostalgic when they saw the Furby toys Credit: TikTok/gemmacauson On her From mini Furbies and Disney figurines, to the iconic Beany Baby animals, her collection was very nostalgic for many viewers who remembered them from their childhood. Gemma wrote: "My mum saved all my old McDonald's toys from my childhood - so now my kids get to play with decent McDonald's toys not cardboard tat.' Many people were flabbergasted at the sheer volume of toys, and queried how often she had been taken to McDonald's as a child. Advertisement More on McDonald's One social media user commented: 'damm was every day a McDonald's dinner day?' She shared: 'I could make approximately 792 of these videos, I have THOUSANDS. 'Just once a week, but my mum always brought me the full collection, and if they had one out of stock, they would save it for me for the next week.' Many people asked how old she was, as they recognised many of the collectible toys. Advertisement Most read in Fabulous Exclusive One person said: 'Are you 30? This was my EXACT collection.' She replied that she is 31, to which another viewer added: 'You are the luckiest girl in the world!!! I remember sooo many of them, I'm 30. The best memories.' McDonald's launches brand-new burger featuring never-before-seen sauce A third person wrote: 'Oh... My childhood... *cries*.' And one commented: 'This ladies and Gentlemans, this is a millenial treasure!!!' Advertisement Lots of people pointed out that she could make a lot of money if she was to sell her limited-edition toys. One said: 'Possibly worth a fortune now for some collectors.' 3 Currently the Happy Meal toys are Pokemon Credit: Getty McDonald's Happy Meals - which cost around £3.89 - include toys or books that are typically themed around movies, TV shows, or other popular franchises. Advertisement Typically a Happy Meal includes a main item (like a cheeseburger, hamburger, or four Chicken McNuggets), fries or carrot sticks, a drink, and the toy. Currently Dragon-type Pokémon are included in the boxes. How to save at McDonald's You could end up being charged more for a McDonald's meal based solely on the McDonald's restaurant you choose. Research by The Sun found a Big Mac meal can be up to 30% cheaper at restaurants just two miles apart from each other. You can pick up a Big Mac and fries for just £2.99 at any time by filling in a feedback survey found on McDonald's receipts. The receipt should come with a 12-digit code which you can enter into the Food for Thought website alongside your submitted survey. You'll then receive a five-digit code which is your voucher for the £2.99 offer. There are some deals and offers you can only get if you have the My McDonald's app, so it's worth signing up to get money off your meals. The MyMcDonald's app can be downloaded on iPhone and Android phones and is quick to set up. You can also bag freebies and discounts on your birthday if you're a My McDonald's app user. The chain has recently sent out reminders to app users to fill out their birthday details - otherwise they could miss out on birthday treats.
