A rare, first-generation Labubu figure has sold for $150,000 in Beijing at an auction held exclusively for the toys that have taken the world by storm. <\/p>\n
The 131-centimeter (51-inch) mint green figurine with a gremlin-like appearance, sharp teeth and puckish grin went for 1.08 million yuan ($150,325) at the Yongle International Auction house that normally specializes in selling jewelry and modern art. <\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations to the online buyer on collecting the world\u2019s only such one,\u201d said the auctioneer at an exhibition center in downtown Beijing on Tuesday afternoon. <\/p>\n
Labubus are currently the trendiest plush toys on the planet, created by Hong Kong-born illustrator Kasing Lung and retailed by the Chinese toy giant Pop Mart. <\/p>\n
In recent months, the bunny-bodied, elf-faced creatures \u2014 equal parts grotesque and adorable \u2014 have soared in popularity, sparking buying frenzies around the world, and in some cases, brawls among fans outside shops selling them. <\/p>\n
Even in China, where Pop Mart is based and most of its toys are made, people are struggling to get their hands on Labubus. <\/p>\n
A total of 48 Labubus were auctioned at the special event, billed as the \u201cWorld\u2019s First\u201d auction of first generation collectible Labubus. <\/p>\n
A brown, 160-centimeter (63-inch) Labubu figure, sold for $114,086, the second highest hammer price at the event. The company said only 15 such figures exist around the world. <\/p>\n
Other figures went for more than $1,000 each. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs a trendy toy in China, Labubu is now becoming a global artwork as it has truly sparked a craze around the world,\u201d Zhao Xu, the founder of Yongle Auction, told state-owned outlet The Beijing News. <\/p>\n
Zhao said the company plans to hold monthly livestream auctions for Labubu and other trendy artworks. <\/p>\n
A pair of Minions-like Labubus sold at auction for 10,000 yuan ($1,391). <\/p>\n
Buyers at the auction also had to pay an additional 15% brokerage fee on top of the hammer prices. <\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not rare to see a price inflation of Labubus due to the crazy demand in China. For instance, a blind box from the latest Labubu 3.0 series, originally priced at around $81, has been selling for up to $278 on the second-hand market, state-owned outlet Cover News reported. <\/p>\n
Labubu\u2019s viral popularity has been a booster for Pop Mart. Annual results show that the Chinese company\u2019s global gross profit surged by over 125% last year, while its revenue in mainland China reached more than $1.09 billion, 34% higher than 2023. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A rare, first-generation Labubu figure has sold for $150,000 in Beijing at an auction held exclusively for the toys that have taken the world by storm. The 131-centimeter (51-inch) mint green figurine with a gremlin-like appearance, sharp teeth and puckish grin went for 1.08 million yuan ($150,325) at the Yongle International Auction house that normally <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17228","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}