You may have seen on TikTok that people are snapping up all sorts of strange things, including odd figures and weird beauty items. Some people really seem to love Labubus and peel-off lip stains. So much so that they’re paying top dollar for them. But why? And how did these items become so popular? Let’s find out what exactly is fueling TikTok’s collector trend.
What Labubus are and how they’re sold
One of the most popular collectors’ items right now is Labubus. This character comes from the designer Kasing Lung and featured in his Monsters universe before being licensed by Pop Mart. Unlike most toys, Labubus don’t come in regular packaging. They come in blind boxes. When you buy one, you don’t know which version you’ll get until you open it.
Some Labubus are rarer than others. The blind box setup means that before opening, you’ll have no idea whether you’re getting a rare one or a normal one. You might even be thinking about the next box before you open the one you have.
What lip stains are
Another popular collectors’ item is the lip stain. These are cosmetic products designed to leave pigment behind on your lips, rather than sitting on top like regular lipstick. There are many different versions, including film-forming systems and peel-off formats. You simply apply a layer and peel it off. The tint stays.
Lip stains are popular in short beauty videos because makeup artists can show how long they last and how they transfer or don’t. The effect is quite clear for the audience. They can easily form their own opinion on them within seconds.
Short-form videos drive discovery and intent
So what makes these things so popular? It’s mostly to do with how TikTok itself works as an app. TikTok is primarily a short video platform, although you are able to upload longer videos on it. But the majority of the time, people scroll through many videos of someone unboxing a Labubu toy or watch a lip stain demo. Each one tends to be quite short.
The sheer number of visual demos increases the chances that someone will want to go and buy the product. Showing off the product isn’t as important as the way it’s actually shown to people.
There’s also the fact that you don’t have to leave the app when you find something you’re interested in. TikTok Shop and live streams allow audience members to buy the products while they’re watching. Reducing the steps to purchasing these products means more people are likely to buy them.
Community identity
It’s addictive seeing a creator open a box with a rare figure, or try a lip stain and show how it lasts through a meal. Those videos get repeated a lot. The more people are exposed to demos and reveals, the more likely they are to try the product themselves.
People who buy Labubus tend to show them off and trade them. They’ll post about what they pulled and what they still want, which encourages other people to buy them. Many Labubu hashtags have millions of posts on TikTok. Many posts show unboxings and rarity reveals, as well as shelf displays.
For lots of people, being the one to snag a rare figure gives them a sense of being part of the in-crowd. Even those who “only” get a common figure still feel part of a community. It’s this sense of belonging that makes these items more valuable than mere things. They become parts of what you post about and who you interact with online.
Resale markets boost the collector hype
Speaking of rare figures, quite a few people who get the rare Labubu figures tend to resell them. Some blind boxes originally priced around US$13 in China later went for US$417 or more on resale platforms.
On American seller marketplaces, listings for Labubu sealed blind boxes sell for a wide range. A few of them are priced just under $40, while others are priced at more than $300, depending on rarity.
This secondary market shows how the resale value is also a part of the collection process. People pay attention to certain drops because they’re looking to sell these products again.
Cross-category tie-ins in beauty and other small goods
You can see the same mechanics you see with the toy side with beauty products. Many of these items now have limited drops or surprise variants, alongside visual reveals in videos. Beauty demos on short‐form video formats show how the product performs. This sort of visual proof helps sell the products.
How many units get released, when they drop, and where also affects how in demand they are. Many Labubu figures sell out quickly in online preorders or at flagship stores. This intensifies the tension of whether people can get these products, so these items seem more valuable.
Consumers sense scarcity or time‐limited availability. It drives immediate interest and repeated checking. It’s an addictive feeling, and that’s one of the major reasons people are so desperate to collect these products.