BANGKOK, Dec 2 — After almost a year of hype, it looks like the Labubu doll market in Thailand has reached saturation point, with once-crazy resale prices now starting to drop.
According to The Nation Thailand, constant production by Pop Mart, the Chinese company behind the collectible dolls, has led to an oversupply. With so many people already owning at least one, demand has cooled off.
As a result, resale prices in Thailand have taken a big hit.
The hype all started when global superstar Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban of Blackpink posted a pic with a Labubu Macaron figurine on her Instagram Story in April, sending fans worldwide scrambling to get their hands on one.
Resale prices in Thailand shot up — 3,000 baht (about RM388) for a blind box and 20,000 baht for a big box — as people rushed to cash in.
But high prices don't always last.
Pop Mart quickly ramped up production to meet demand, but some of the new batches didn’t quite live up to the usual quality standards.
Unhappy customers led to a drop in excitement, and prices started to fall.
Pop Mart tried to revive interest by releasing a second version, “Labubu Have a Seat,” but it just couldn’t capture the same feverish demand in Thailand as the original.
In Thailand, the resale prices for this version peaked at 2,000 baht for a blind box and 12,000 baht for a big box — much lower than what the first version was fetching.
In the end, the oversupply and the fact that most collectors already have at least one means the dolls lost their “must-have” appeal. And with that, resale prices have tumbled.
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