Human sized Labubu figure sells for over 193 000 at Beijing auction

BEIJING – A Beijing auction house sold a human-sized Labubu figure for 1.08 million yuan (S$193,400) on June 10, setting a new record for the “blind box” toy as it moves from craze to collectible.

The event held by Yongle International Auction, which traditionally specialises in modern art, as well as jewellery, marked the first ever auction dedicated to Labubu, toothy monster figurines that are mainly sold by China’s toy company Pop Mart and have been at the centre of a global frenzy for the past year.

The auction offered 48 lots for sale and was attended in person by roughly 200 people, while over a thousand bidders put down offers via Yongle’s mobile app, the auction house said.

The starting price for all the items started at zero and it eventually raised a total of 3.73 million yuan.

The highest grossing item, a mint green, 131cm tall Labubu figure, received several bids to sell for 1.08 million yuan. The auctioneer said it was the only one available in the world.

A set of three Labubu sculptures, about 40cm tall and made of PVC material, sold for 510,000 yuan. The set, from a series called “Three Wise Labubu”, was limited to a run of 120 sets in 2017 and another one sold for HK$203,200 (S$33,300) at Sotheby’s most recent auction in Hong Kong.

Labubu was created a decade ago by Hong Kong artist and illustrator Kasing Lung.

In 2019, Mr Lung agreed to let them be sold by Pop Mart, a Chinese toy company that markets collectable figurines often sold in “blind boxes”.

A buyer of a blind box toy does not know exactly what design they will receive until they open the packaging. The starting price for Labubu blind box toys sold in Pop Mart’s stores is around 50