Labubu Commands Premium Resales While Crybaby Gains Momentum as Investment

Labubu remains the scarcity play and Crybaby has become the growth story. Limited Labubu drops and special editions continue to sell out and hold premium resale value, while Crybaby posted 1.22 billion yuan in the latest half-year, rising nearly 249% year over year and joining Pop Mart’s top performers.

The broader market gives both characters room to run. Industry World estimated the Chinese art toy market at more than 120 billion yuan this year, with China accounting for over 35% of the global market and maintaining double-digit growth. Pop Mart’s shares have surged almost 200% this year as investors price that expansion; the Hong Kong-listed company is now valued higher than Hasbro, Mattel and Sanrio combined.

Labubu’s role is central to that momentum. The character is the flagship of The Monsters series, and Pop Mart does not break out Labubu sales individually, but The Monsters accounted for almost 35% of total first-half revenue. Collectors report sold-out drops and blind-box scarcity: Pop Mart releases frequent online drops at Thursday 9 p.m. and in-store on Friday at 10 a.m., and items like the POP MART The Monsters Labubu Pin For Love Series N-Z blind box keychain move fast. One buyer, Shigo, said they gifted a letter pull from a Labubu keychain and the recipient loved it, underscoring the series’ shelf and gift appeal.

Crybaby’s trajectory looks different. The vinyl Crybaby Crying Again series, plus bag charms, keychains and huggable variants including a Powerpuff Girls Crybaby tie-in, position it as an affordable, merchandisable IP. Pop Mart’s Head of IP Licensing, Americas, Emily Brough, framed the character’s appeal this way: “The subtitle for Crybaby is 'It's okay to cry sometimes.' And that just seems like something that's very relevant for this moment and clearly something that people are resonating with.” She also says Crybaby sits within Pop Mart’s top five IP globally.

That split, Labubu as scarcity-driven premium and Crybaby as scaling, entry-level inventory, shows up in the company’s half-year mix. Reuters-era reporting notes Molly, Skullpanda and Crybaby each passed 1 billion yuan in first-half sales, and Crybaby’s 1.22 billion yuan figure aligns with that benchmark. Collectors interviewed are acting on the gap: one shopper from Germany, Yennhi Ntuyen, said, “As I was already slow for Labubu, I thought maybe I’d catch the next trend earlier.”

Strategically, the pattern is familiar: Pop Mart sells lifestyle and margins that rival luxury brands, Louis Houdart at Mad observes, while industry watchers note execution risk compared with legacy IP operators. Jeff Zhang at Morningstar warns that Disney’s playbook is easy to study but hard to replicate, implying the company’s twin strategy, protecting Labubu’s premium while scaling Crybaby’s reach, must be managed carefully.

For collectors weighing investment, the immediate takeaway is concrete. Labubu remains the premium collectible to chase for limited runs and resale upside. Crybaby offers a high-growth, lower-entry route into Pop Mart’s IP ecosystem, backed by 1.22 billion yuan in recent revenue and rapid merchandising expansion.