Just as we thought Hongkongers’ attention spans were shifting more towards other collectibles like Crybaby, Pucky, or Chiikawa, Labubu returns to grab us all by the throat once again. Pop Mart is launching the third edition of their globally famous Labubu series on April 25, and here’s how you might get first dibs.
Since Pop Mart is a Chinese brand, they’ve already dropped the goods for the mainland Chinese market online on the evening of April 24. As you might expect of viral items, the plushie monsters have already been seen on second-hand shopping platforms like Carousell with wildly inflated prices – the blind boxes cost RMB99 on the official website, but are being sold for as much as HK$1,500 at the moment.
Buying Labubu 3.0 in Hong Kong is slightly different, as sales will be conducted via lottery. Hongkongers have until noon on April 25 to sign up on Pop Mart for their lottery, and the results will be announced at 5pm the same day. Chosen customers will then need to physically go to their pre-chosen Pop Mart store by 9pm on Saturday, April 26, to make their purchases. We are also unable to buy singular Labubu blind boxes and must purchase a carton of six in one go, priced at $720. Each customer can only buy one carton.
Following on from the viral pastel-coloured plushies of version one’s ‘Tasty Macarons’ series and the seated version two’s ‘Have A Seat’ series, version three is named ‘The Monsters Big Into Energy’ series. Featuring tie dye-like gradient colours, the coat of Labubu 3.0 is longer and furrier than previous editions. Its eyes, one tooth, claws, and two-toned ears will also reflect its overall colour scheme. They come in six regular colours – red, light orange, peachy pink and yellow, blue, light green, and purple – while the rare secret colour will be black and grey fur with rainbow eyes and teeth.
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