2026 Labubu rarity guide reveals figures worth up to $170,000

1. Life-size mint-green prototype

Athlon Sports puts this one at about $170,000, and that number tells you everything about where Labubu sits now. If you only remember one thing from the ranking, make it this: a one-off prototype will beat any retail pull every time.

2. Pre-production prototype pieces

Prototype Labubu figures matter because they were never built for the blind-box shelf, which is exactly why collectors prize them. The value comes from pre-release scarcity, not age alone, and that is the detail buyers miss when they assume anything old must be expensive.

3. Elite collaborations

The highest-tier collaborations are where Labubu turns brand heat into resale heat. If you are paying premium money, the partner name and run size matter more than the fact that it is a Labubu at all, especially when POP MART’s U.S. lineup already stretches from blind boxes around $17.99 to collaboration items listed at $299.99.

4. Secret editions

Secret editions sit near the top because they combine the blind-box thrill with the lowest odds in the case. Athlon’s guide treats them as serious chase pieces, and that makes sense: the hidden pull is the one buyers keep paying up for after retail is long gone.

5. 2019 POP MART collaboration figures

The 2019 collaboration with POP MART is the point where Labubu broke out of a narrower art-toy lane and into a much wider collector market. Figures tied to that moment matter because they capture the first wave of mainstream demand, when the character started moving beyond inside-baseball status.

6. 2015 The Monsters originals

Kasing Lung created Labubu in 2015 as part of The Monsters, a fairy world inspired by Nordic mythology, and early pieces from that era still carry origin-story weight. In practice, that means collectors are paying not just for scarcity, but for the first chapter of the character itself.

7. Limited-inventory blind-box chases

This is where buyers most often misread value: a figure can come out of a box that costs about $17.99 and still behave like a premium collectible if the chase is tight enough. Limited inventory and a strong hidden pull are what turn a routine release into something you hunt across resale markets.

8. Large collaboration items

Not every expensive Labubu is a small vinyl figure. POP MART’s U.S. lineup also includes larger collaboration items listed at $299.99, and those higher-ticket releases matter because they show how far the brand can push beyond entry-level blind-box pricing.

9. Standard blind-box releases

Standard blind-box Labubu figures belong at the bottom of the premium ladder, and that is exactly where a lot of people overestimate them. They are the reference point, not the trophy, which is why condition and box-fresh status matter more here than in the rarer chase tiers.

10. The Monsters market engine

The whole ranking lands harder because the franchise is not a niche sideshow anymore. POP MART’s 2025 annual results said The Monsters celebrated its 10th birthday, Labubu became a global sensation, and annual revenue hit RMB 14.16 billion after rising 365.7% year over year; interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 showed RMB 13.876 billion, up 204.4% year over year, after 2024 annual results had already put The Monsters above RMB 3 billion. With more than 23 countries and regions, 350+ stores, and 2,000+ Roboshops, the market is large enough to reward the rarest pieces and expose every overpriced one.