Recently, I’ve been noticing the charm of Labubu taking over my social media feed, with friends sharing their new companion accessory – a tiny, nine-toothed, fuzzy monster keychain plush – attached to their purses or backpacks. As fandom and fashion continue to evolve, personalizing daily carry-ons with charms has become the latest trend, and none are more popular right now than Pop Mart’s x Kasing Lung’s The Monsters, featuring their whimsical Labubu elven playful entities.

Kasing Lung, the creator and picture book artist, drew inspiration from Nordic mythology about enchanted forest elves when creating his Labubu characters. As a fan of fantasy creatures, I’ve found myself drawn into the toy collector space, and I’ve also been tempted by Pop Mart’s Disney collaborations. Their appeal to me lies in the deeply adorable Henson Creature shop aesthetic mixed with Where the Wild Things Are vibes, reminiscent of Donnie Darko‘s Frank the Bunny.

Labubu taps into a visceral nostalgia of child-like make-believe that I haven’t felt in a while. I’d seen one of my closest friends, a devoted K-pop fan, post photos of her Labubu on her red carpet and concert adventures. Initially, I thought it might be a K-pop thing, and to some extent, the craze did receive a boost from fans thanks to Blackpink singer and The White Lotus star Lalisa accessorizing her designer bags with her collection of Labubus from the “Exciting Macaron” and “Have a Seat” drops, which she recently showed off to Vanity Fair. My curiosity was piqued, and I was getting alerts that more Pop Mart locations were opening up soon, so I hoped to take a peek eventually.

So I hesitated but watched from afar. My interest grew further when another friend, who’s into spooky kawaii culture, messaged me about her hunt for a Labubu. I lived vicariously through her journey, encountering sold-out Pop Mart queues on the official website and immediate drops at locations that only had them momentarily available on online pre-order. This was necessary to avoid customer misunderstandings or delays if the shop dared to put them out on the floor; an employee at my local Pop Mart confirmed this when I called to see if any were available to buy. Labubus, like the mischievous creatures that inspired them, make only limited appearances before being quickly snatched up.

Fantasy folklore and fandom fashion collided, and I was in. The need to know more grew, and I dove into YouTube videos to discover as much as I could (Lalisa’s video helped the most). There are little bits of character stories pieced together about the relationships between the Labubus, how the main character is Labubu but she is also a Labubu (think Toad from Mario Bros.), and they come in different plush sizes that inspire mad cuteness aggression. Combine that with Pop Mart’s blind box itch, and that’s a dangerous combo. But it was probably finding out that Labubus have their own land in a Pop Mart theme park (that I need to visit!) which really cinched the deal. I write about theme parks and love fantasy monsters… let’s go.

Listening to my friends’ different journeys to find their coveted Labubu inspired a weekend trip to the mall to check the Pop Mart vending machine and retailers I was familiar with having product. Storefronts were taped off with customers queuing to get in, and shelves were empty.

My spooky-cute collector friend started researching how to verify a legitimate Labubu from a third-party seller. When io9 talked to the blind box toy titan about this approach, the official line is “Pop Mart can’t officially comment on third-party purchases” and “the best way to guarantee your Labubu is authentic is by purchasing directly from Pop Mart retail stores,” but a quick TikTok search could assist your search if you exercise caution.

The hunt for these elusive cute creatures is that serious, as with any collector item. As someone who grew up hanging out at the mall and still can’t grow out of weekend trips to get my steps in, I attempted multiple times at various places to get my hands on an “Exciting Macaron” plush keychain blind box. I encountered toy islands charging an outrageous $30 for the sought-after boxes, which was the first red flag of many—including differences in the boxing, which online searches suggest are clear warning signs of a fake. Meanwhile, mall mainstays known for selling Pop Mart products have begun to mark up their inventory from $45 to $70, as opposed to the cost of $21.99 straight from the source.

After weeks of constant “sold out” notifications—likely from the bot-fueled frenzy of flippers—I stood before a Pop Mart, contemplating my next move. I walked in and looked at Labubus on display with little digital signs reading “out of stock.” Defeated, I went to get a tea latte at a coffee stand where the employees displayed Labubu stickers; they may have directed me to a shop where boxes were available for $45, and I may have caved.

But until I get my hands on a Labubu straight from the source, I won’t know if I got the real deal or not. So now I’m eagerly waiting for the next drop so I can finally get some peace of mind—and proudly display a chaotically cute creature companion on my arm, too.

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