Labubu mania: life-size doll sells for 1.08 million yuan at Beijing auction

With its big eyes and toothy, mischievous grin, the little Labubu became one of the biggest social media crazes of 2025. A Beijing auction on June 10 showed just how far the frenzy had gone.

At the first auction dedicated to Labubu, held by Yongle International Auction, a mint-green figure standing 131 cm tall sold for 1.08 million yuan, or about $150,000. The auction house said it was the only one of its kind in the world.

All 48 lots started at zero. About 200 people attended in person and more than 1,000 bid through the auction house's mobile app, and the lots fetched 3.73 million yuan in total.

Labubu figures are sold mainly by Chinese toy company Pop Mart in "blind boxes", so buyers don't know which design they have until they open the box. Fans queued outside stores, and stars such as Rihanna, Blackpink's Lisa and Dua Lipa were seen with the toys hooked on their handbags.

The craze sent Pop Mart's business soaring: its revenue for the first half of 2025 reached 13.88 billion yuan, up 204% from a year earlier.