Even for those of us who touch grass and aren’t hopelessly devoted to TikTok, the viral Labubu craze is probably hard to miss. It seems you can’t turn around these days without seeing those toothy lil’ trinkets grinning back at you at every turn from handbags, keychains, and desks.
It’s pretty much warped into a cultural trend with long queues at stores, bonkers resale prices, and apparently a desire to make sure they’re protected when you’re heading overseas.
Yup, you read that right, turns out more and more Aussies are now taking out insurance for their beloved Labubus.
One in three Millennials or Gen Zers — and one in four Aussies more broadly — reckon they’ll take out travel insurance to protect their collectible ahead of their next trip, according to a new report from travel insurance provider PassportCard.
Some 20 per cent of travellers even say Labubus will be a target for thieves across Europe this summer.
“It might seem ridiculous to insure a toy, but it speaks volumes about how emotionally invested people are in what they pack,” said PassportCard Australia chief Peter Klemt.
“When you consider some Labubus are now selling for nearly $1,000 on resale sites, it makes sense why they want to protect them.”
Wait, are people actually stealing Labubus?
For those of us who aren’t chronically online, Labubus are the Internet’s fave new trinket, created by Hong Kong designer Kasing Lung and it’s got pop culture (and our wallets) in a chokehold.
They come in “blind boxes”, meaning you’ve got no idea what colour or design you’re gonna get until you open it up, with unboxing vids racking up millions of views. Plus, they sell for anywhere between $30 to $180 in online stores to a staggering $1,000 by re-sellers (not me crying in poor).
So, as it unfortunately goes with these things, there’s plenty of folk eyeballing the toys to make a quick buck.
There are tons of videos now of people trying to protect their Labubu from thieves and pickpockets, resorting to carabiners and snap hooks, and even bubble cases to keep them safe.
In a video posted earlier this month, Sydney-based TikToker Anisha Akhtar shared that she’d almost been robbed when a woman tried to cut out the Labubu hanging from her bag.
“I work in the city, and in the mornings, it’s packed out when you get out. I was walking and this girl came behind me and she tried to grab it. She had a pocket knife with her,” she told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“When you buy something, if it’s $2, even if it’s $300, whatever it is, no one should feel the right to go and steal something. That’s yours!”
She admitted she was pretty shocked by the encounter, with plenty of TikTok users and her friends advising her to invest in a Labubu case.
“I got all these comments [on my video] and my friends told me I should buy a case. Actually, just yesterday, I saw someone with a big bubble case, so I think that’s how they’re protecting their labubus,” she said.
Akhtar, who said she owns “probably 20 to 30” of these trinkets, explained her fascination with the toys comes from the fun of getting to dress ’em up.
“Just on TikTok and Instagram, when you look at a Labubu, honestly it kind of looks ugly. Whoever made it was probably taking the piss at the beginning,” she joked.
“But when you see it with an outfit, it looks so cute. I love playing dress up, I love fashion, and when I found out you could do that [with Labubus], my sister and I went crazy with them.”
So, would she insure her Labubu before travelling overseas? Probably not, Akhtar admitted.
“I’m definitely surprised to hear that’s happening. I didn’t even know about that. That’s so crazy,” she said.
Still, it looks like there’s plenty of Aussies who are keen to take the extra step. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, 24-year-old Olivia Bubalao said she sought insurance for her Labubu ahead of her three-week trip to Spain, Greece, Belgium, France and Croatia after seeing videos of people who had been pickpocketed.
“I’ve been hearing about many people having theirs stolen and so I did some research and, once I found an insurance package that included my Labubu in personal items of value, then it was a no-brainer,” she said.
Similarly, 23-year-old Rachael Clayton told the publication she’d gone ahead and purchased a $150 insurance package for her seven Labubus for her upcoming European trip.
“If I lost one on a trip I’d feel sad, especially nowadays with how hard they were to get and how long ago I bought them – they’re a part of me at this point,” she said.
I fear we might be a bit too far gone with this one — but hey, to each their own?
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