The Hungarian resale market has been swept by a new craze: Labubu, a doe-eyed, rabbit-eared figurine sold in “blind box” packaging. In just a few months, demand for the collectibles has surged so dramatically that searches for them on marketplace platform Jófogás have overtaken established icons such as Barbie and Pokémon.
According to Jófogás data, interest in Labubu barely registered in May, but by June searches had jumped into the thousands, with July marking a turning point as the toy outpaced decades-old brands.
Originally launched in 2019 by Chinese toy group Pop Mart, Labubu has found its global breakthrough in 2025, turbocharged by TikTok and other social platforms. Standard figurines and plush toys retail for HUF 10,000–40,000 ($27–$105), but limited editions command far higher prices. Giant versions are traded for sums exceeding HUF 1mn ($2,600).
The resale boom mirrors earlier toy crazes such as Monchhichi dolls in the 1980s or the Furby fad of the 1990s. Unlike those, however, Labubu has been positioned not only for children but also for adult collectors, an audience already primed by decades of Lego nostalgia.
Still, the long-term trajectory of Labubu remains uncertain. Lego, by contrast, dominates Hungary’s second-hand listings, with tens of thousands of ads each month and premium sets selling for hundreds of thousands of forints.
