So you want a Labubu. Well the first question is why? Did you think they were cute? Did you leave the house this morning and see one attached to someone’s bag? Are you following a trend? Or do you genuinely just like them? It’s difficult to determine everyone’s opinion, as each one of them is different.
Nowadays people will buy anything just because a large number of people own it. Take Hydroflasks and Stanelys for example. They practically took social media and the world by storm, and they are quite literally just water bottles. Some people are buying Labubus to resell them for higher value, but then some choose to make the purchase for a cute little accessory on their bag.
The real reason behind its popularity though is the blind box aspect of it. You see, Labubu isn’t the only popular blind box currently, its just the most viral one within media at this moment. People get a sense of thrill from being completely surprised by what’s in that box waiting for them. It makes them forget, and that’s what people want nowadays.
With current events in the world being almost always negative, people look to something materialistic to soften their worries. Something that can distract them, make them smile when they see or remember it. They put their emotions into a physical manifestation and make themselves depend on it, in order to put off processing what they are feeling, and its addicting.
People will go back and buy more, constantly, til they get the one that they want. Or till they get the elusive secret. Now what is this secret? Well, each blind box has a set few possibilities within it, and they’re typically shown on the packaging of the box, but there’s almost always one shaded option that isn’t shown, with the word secret plastered on it.
So just what makes this secret so special, well its a very difficult catch I’ll tell you that. Take the Big Into Energy series of Labubu for example, pulling the secret from your box has a tricky 1/72 chance. Now I’ll be honest, I’ve pulled the secret and pulled my favorite one as well, but others haven’t had as much luck to get them as easily as I did. That’s when they turn to resellers.
Resellers create a sense of demand. They make the value of something seem so high. For example, why is a 35 dollar plush keychain being resold for 800 dollars… and yes, it is actually selling.
People will go to such lengths, pour so much money right down the drain, just for a stimulation in their brains, because that’s simply what this is, its a plush keychain that might make you smile. It’s nothing more, it doesn’t do anything, its simply decor.
On the other hand you’ve got people just wanting to fit in with the crowd. They see all these others being so incredibly hyped up on social media opening these blind boxes, and they think to themselves well I want that. Its a bit cute and perhaps it would make me just as happy, because as we all know social media does that to people. They see other’s happiness, sometimes genuine, sometimes fabricated for a digital presence, and they think to themselves man I wish I could have that.
Well when you put it into a physical manifestation such as a blind box, then people are going to instead think well maybe I can have that happiness, if I make the same purchase they have. Now in the general picture its just a plush key chain, but when you take a look at it from a more psychological stand point, there’s reason why everyone is suddenly so obsessed with this.
Now here’s a really big truth bomb that makes everything I just said make so much more sense. Remember Beanie Babies? They rolled around on shelves around the Great Depression, and they were an absolute HIT, because as I said, they made people forget. When you have something to absolutely obsess and lose yourself over, you are heavily distracted from your troubles, because you’ve clouded your own mind.
The shelves were sweeped for Beanie Babies, there were thefts, people selling out stores, collecting, its the exact same way today. A woman in florida’s car was broken into, the entire front window destroyed, for labubus sitting on her dashboard, you wanna know the worst part? They weren’t even real, she had fake ones sitting there and still got her car destroyed.
On August 13, 2025 Fox News reported that the police recovered $30,000 worth of stolen Labubus, that is beyond insane. People are losing their minds, and some people are just simply purchasing something they likes, because in truth there are those people that did just genuinely think they’re cute and wanted a few. Some people liked them before the sudden surge in popularity. The vast majority may be going ballistic over a simple plush keychain, but some just want a little something to enjoy.