\u201cI really, really wanted to get the pink one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen trying to get it became so hard and the harder it was to find it, the more I wanted it, so it became like this cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the uninitiated, Labubus are collectible plush toy monster elves created by Hong Kong-born designer Kasing Lung and sold by Chinese toy company Pop Mart, which now has 11 stores in Australia.<\/p>\n
They have quickly become the must-have fashion accessory for 2025, with celebrities including Rihanna, Dua Lipa and David Beckham authentically endorsing them.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve featured in The New York Times best-dressed list this year, on the runway for brands like Coach in New York and Bottega Veneta in Milan, on the bags of the style-conscious set at Copenhagen Fashion Week and, closer to home, at Australian Fashion Week.<\/p>\n
The furry critters are sold in blind boxes, which means customers do not know which one they are getting until they rip open the packaging.<\/p>\n
Heightening the excitement is a one-in-72 chance of scoring a \u201csecret\u201d, rare Labubu.<\/p>\n
And the popularity of the viral sensation has translated to a big win for Pop Mart\u2019s bottom line \u2014 shares in the company have reportedly soared more than 500 per cent in the last year.<\/p>\n
Now, experts are warning that the marketing strategy behind the Labubu\u2019s extraordinary success mimics the tactics casinos use to entice and exploit problem gamblers.<\/p>\n
![\"Brisbane-based](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/819259a3ea7c6db7d90f640482414cc29bfc365a-4x3-x0y490w1600h1200.jpg\")
Brisbane-based content creator and TikTok star Sam Todd. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
Ms Todd, who considers herself an \u201cOG Labubu superfan\u201d, says buying Labubu feels like \u201clow-stakes gambling\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s addictive either way, because if you get the one that you want, you\u2019re like, \u2018oh my god, I have such good luck, so I should get more\u2019,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you don\u2019t get the one that you want, then you\u2019re like, \u2018oh my god, I have to try and get the one that I want\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s win-win either way for the brand, but I don\u2019t know about the consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 30-year-old admits she is \u201ca marketer\u2019s dream\u201d and became a full-blown Labubu fiend in a matter of months.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got into Labubu last year before the craze really hit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start it was impossible to get them in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not proud but after going to every single Pop Mart in Singapore, I did end up going to a reseller and paying $50 per Labubu.\u201d<\/p>\n
She bought four of the elf-like vinyl and plush figures that day in an attempt to hedge her bets to acquire one in a colour she would like.<\/p>\n
The millennial, who has about 260K TikTok followers, then dramatically unboxed her \u201clittle treats\u201d on social media so her followers could share in her excitement.<\/p>\n
In one video, her glittery manicured nails tap on the side of a pretty box before she rips off the cardboard strip, tears the loud crinkly plastic pouch and gasps with joy as she pulls out a plush character.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting the Exciting Macaron collection was like the gateway, because then it opened up to the special edition of Labubu, country-exclusive Labubu and the big Zimomo which is like the boy version of Labubu. There\u2019s just so many elements to it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd because I do a lot of content around travelling and shopping while travelling, naturally, I was like, \u2018I need to be getting the country exclusive Labubus\u2019. So that really became a big thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Todd\u2019s Labubu content goes gangbusters, outperforming \u2013 by far \u2013 any other category of videos she creates.<\/p>\n
Consumer psychologist Christina Anthony from the University of Sydney said it was because Labubus were more than mere \u2018toys\u2019 for many collectors.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of consumers are using the Labubus, not only as a social currency, but also as a social connection with others,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime you go on TikTok or social media, all you see is unboxing videos. Everyone\u2019s sharing it and everyone\u2019s becoming immersed in that sharing experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut some would say it is not just a toy. It\u2019s gambling disguised as a treat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Anthony, a marketing lecturer at Sydney University\u2019s Business School, said buying Labubus in blind boxes taps into the same psychological triggers as gambling.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the \u2018little treat\u2019 economy. It\u2019s affordable. It\u2019s cheap. It gives you that quick dopamine hit that you (crave) when you\u2019re feeling a little bit low,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it has these similarities to gambling processes and a lot of what casinos use to keep consumers coming back and gambling more.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does function a lot, psychologically, like a gambling habit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The quest to complete your entire Labubu collection can also drive addiction.<\/p>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/e4bf7a863caa5eb4f674c7c7a3b6f30c3470d02f-4x3-x0y153w1290h968.jpg\")
Dr Christina Anthony from the University Of Sydney Business School. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re interested in building collections and that\u2019s where it kind of gets into the gambling links, because a lot of these blind box toys use the same psychological tricks that slot machines do, and a lot of it is based on these random rewards,\u201d Dr Anthony said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time you\u2019re opening this little box and you don\u2019t know what\u2019s in there, there\u2019s that anticipation and it feels a little bit like a gamble.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lottery, because you don\u2019t know what the outcome is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Anthony said blind boxes also create repetitive buying behaviour.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just about the individual toy. You\u2019re trying to complete a set of these toys, and you\u2019re pushing to have the whole collection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur brains don\u2019t like open loops so when you buy one of the collectibles, you\u2019re then like, \u2018I need to get the next one to complete the entire set\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs humans, we like completion and closure and that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Anthony said the hunt for Labubus, with their devilish grins, can become all-consuming.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the addiction part of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always on your mind, because there\u2019s so many stages in this consumption process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s the anticipation before purchase, there\u2019s the actual purchase, there\u2019s the showing of the purchase, and then it\u2019s a loop that starts all over again because you need to move on to the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n
But that next fix can be hard to find as new stock regularly sells out within seconds, creating surprise, scarcity and deep disappointment for those who miss out.<\/p>\n
Labubus range in price and size but retail from about $32 in Australia. However, the coveted toys are often resold online for hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.<\/p>\n
Recently, a human-sized Labubu figure sold in Beijing for an eye-watering $231,535.<\/p>\n
![\"Director](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/898fa563c284390d205f1c287ab27eba5ede6fe6-4x3-x0y0w1920h1440.jpg\")
Director of ANU Centre for Gambling Research Aino Suomi. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
Director of the Australian National University Centre for Gambling Research, Associate Professor Aino Suomi, said the mystery box strategy to sell products was not new \u2013 think cereal box prizes, Kinder Surprises and Pok\u00e9mon cards \u2013 but this tactic, along with manufactured scarcity, is \u201cethically problematic\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe definition of gambling is that you\u2019re using money \u2013 fake money or real money \u2013 for something of value, and you don\u2019t know the outcome of that purchase before you put the money in and that\u2019s exactly what these mystery boxes are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the anticipation of the outcome that gives you the dopamine hit that goes into exactly the same reward pathways as other addictions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s really concerning is that these are targeted at children and obviously not regulated like gambling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Suomi said that like gambling, Labubu boxes present \u201ca random chance outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen them pop up on my social media and it\u2019s really similar to these other gambling-like features marketed to children,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s these unboxing parties and it\u2019s the rarity of the secret Labubus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rarer (Labubu), the bigger dopamine hit you get, or even just the anticipation of it so it\u2019s absolutely (tapping into the same) gambling impulses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely doing exactly the same thing in the brain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr Suomi, a public health researcher and psychologist, said Labubu blind boxes were like loot boxes in video games.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s quite problematic in these kinds of blind boxes, whether they\u2019re online or whether they\u2019re physical boxes, is that there\u2019s the gambling element when you engage with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that engaging in these types of activities, with gambling-like features, is related to experiencing gambling harm in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The expert, whose work focuses on child and family wellbeing in the context of gambling harm, said she would like to see blind box toys regulated to prevent children from purchasing them, given how addictive they are.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to see that, but where do you draw the line because there\u2019s so many things like this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there should be at least some kind of warning system that this is a random chance feature and parents should be taking note of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren are vulnerable because their brains are not fully developed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Todd, who has collected about 20 of the plush toys, said that while she loves her Labubus, the quest for new ones no longer consumes her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of people can be really negative about Labubus now that they\u2019ve reached this sort of new height of popularity but it\u2019s just fun,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really fun, but it\u2019s not my whole life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s whimsical. It\u2019s a reclaiming of the inner child. It\u2019s collecting. It\u2019s just not that deep.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Sam Todd laid eyes on a cute-yet-creepy creature dangling \u2013 like an oversized keyring \u2013 from the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":56351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4740,392,210,517,1194,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-56350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-culture","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-society","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114833609548457833","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}