AUSTIN (KXAN) — If you haven’t heard of the Labubu dolls, allow us to introduce you.
The viral sensation has sparked a frenzy of fans and collectors waiting in lines for hours in the Austin area, hoping to get their hands on a blind box filled with a surprise Labubu.
The summer of 2025 may go down as the summer of Labubu after celebrities started clipping them to their designer bags during fashion week this year. The dolls hail from Hong Kong and have been around for about ten years, first with a picture book series, but by 2019, toy giant Pop Mart had turned them into the viral collectible it has become today.
Part of the draw is that each Labubu, along with many other characters in the Pop Mart collection, comes in a “blind box”, meaning those buying the item don’t know exactly which character will be inside.
Wondering where you can buy a Labubu doll in Austin? Several Austin area shops are selling Labubu dolls, including Blue Diamond Boutique in Round Rock. The owner, Kirsten Dicarlo, has gone all in on Labubu. She makes regular trips to the Pop Mart store in Las Vegas to stock up.
“We fly to Pop Mart and physically do pickups in-store,” said Dicarlo.
She, too, has waited hours to bring back the products to her customers in Central Texas.
“As soon as I saw the Labubus, she had to become a part of the boutique,” said Dicarlo.
Parker + Scott had a special pop-up shop and swap event on Sunday, June 29, with local influencer @AustinFoodAdventures attracting hundreds of Labubu lovers who waited hours for their chance to get one of the little monsters. Their event started at 11 a.m., but people were in line by 7 a.m.
Another location to find Labubu in Austin is a store named Ellicor, on Airport Boulevard near N. Lamar Boulevard. They sell a variety of blind box characters from Pop Mart. Opening weekend was June 28-29, and the line to get in to buy a Labubu was hours long.
There will likely be more and more shops in the Austin area starting to carry authentic Labubu dolls; however, you may also see stores carrying the knock-offs, lovingly called Lafufu’s. The difference between a real Labubu and a Lafufu is quite obvious.
The real Labubu is heavier and sturdier than the Lafufu, which often has misprints on the face, lower quality stitching, typos, and the boxes are lightweight compared to a thicker, higher quality Labubu box.
However, the Lafufus are also beloved by fans, getting a kick out of the mistakes made during production, creating viral videos, and sharing their disappointment in buying a fake Labubu.
Locally, we found Lafufu dolls at the Barton Hills Market on Barton Hills Road for about $18.
The retail price for an authentic Labubu doll is about $28, but the resale price climbs quickly. KXAN has found prices locally ranging from $60 to $75.
