Collectables
The Ultimate Guide to Buying Labubu at Retail (Popmart and Beyond)
Labubu is a global phenomenon in designer toys. Learn how to spot real stock on official sites and avoid the marked-up fakes.
Kasing Lung's Labubu characters, produced by Popmart, have transformed from niche designer toys into a global cultural phenomenon. Whether you are looking for the "The Monsters" blind box series or a high-end limited edition vinyl figure, the competition for authentic stock is intense. This demand has led to a market flooded with counterfeits and massively inflated prices on resale platforms. Learning how to navigate the official release channels is the only way to ensure you are getting the real deal at a fair price.
Where to Buy and How to Verify
Popmart's official website and their authorised storefronts on platforms like Amazon and AliExpress are the only places where you can guarantee both authenticity and retail pricing. However, it is critical to ensure you are buying from the official Popmart store on these platforms; always verify that items are sold directly by Popmart or the platform itself, and not via unverified third-party sellers who often deal in counterfeits.
Their release schedule is often based on local time in Asia, which can make tracking them difficult for fans in the West. Understanding when these "global" restocks happen is the first step in beating the resellers.
Hundreds of independent hobby stores also stock Labubu and Popmart products, and it can be incredibly difficult to track them all manually. This is why mobile applications like MerchVault make it easy to monitor inventory across both major global storefronts and smaller independent stockists in real-time, giving you the best chance to secure items at their true retail price.
Expert Advice for Labubu Fans
- Stick to Official Storefronts: When using Amazon or AliExpress, check the "Sold by" field. It must say "Popmart Official Store" or the platform itself. If the price is significantly lower than the official retail value, it is almost certainly a counterfeit. Authentic Labubu figures rarely go on sale below MSRP.
- Monitor Global vs. Regional Sites: Popmart maintains different inventories for their US, UK, and Global stores. If the US store is sold out, the Global store may still have stock available for international shipping.
- Watch for "Ghost" Restocks: Cancelled orders often result in small amounts of inventory reappearing on the site without a formal announcement. These are the best times to buy if you missed the initial drop.
Secure Your Labubu with MerchVault
Popmart restocks often happen at times that are inconvenient for many collectors. MerchVault monitors Popmart's global storefronts 24/7, alerting you the moment a "Sold Out" status changes to "Add to Cart." Don't gamble with third-party marketplaces and potential fakes. Get the real deal at retail. Use our Vault to save the items you are hunting for and track your designer toy collection's value over time.
