Sydney mum's 'scam' warning over Labubu craze

“It's wrong and these pop ups should be banned from operating and selling items like this”

Labubus have been well and truly crowned as the TikTok trending fashion buy of the moment. The creepy dolls are top the wishlists of fashionistas of all ages - even your little ones.

But, what comes with something so in demand (to the point where people are flying across the country and lining up at midnight for them) comes a whole lot of fakes, and one Sydney mum is sharing her story in hopes of preventing anyone else from getting duped.

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Image: Supplied, TikTok / @justgeo__.

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“She was crying. So upset.”

Sydney mum Lisa* said that just like so many others, her daughter was ‘very quickly’ sucked into the Labubu craze.

“She kept talking to me about these little dolls I knew nothing about - except for the fact that people were lining up for HOURS to get one. And don't even get me started on the price,” she told Kidspot.

So, despite her and her husband being completely clueless about these little gremlins, they did what any good parents would do and tried to get her one.

“Last week, I sent my hubby out to do the grocery shopping with my daughter and she spotted a little Asian pop up store in the middle of our local plaza selling Labubu dolls for $25,” she said.

“She of course lost her mind and my husband of course had no idea what she was so excited about so on their way out, he figured he'd treat her by buying one. She told him how expensive they usually are so he thought he was onto a winner at just $25!”

But, they very quickly realised they weren’t as lucky as they thought.

“Of course, they both got scammed and what they walked away with was the Temu version of the cult dolls!” she said.

“The warning signs were there - she opened the box which didn't have a barcode on it, the doll looked cheap when she opened the blind bag and then... the giant forehead!!

"’I got a fake one! It's not real!’ She was crying. So upset.”

@fatimaaaleonnn

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They call them… ‘Lafufus’

Lisa isn’t the only one who’s been duped with what’s been coined a ‘Lafufu’.

Hundreds of disappointed shoppers have documented their experiences unboxing their fakes online, after desperately purchasing what they thought were real Labubus on sites like eBay and Alibaba, or in pop ups. Many of these are parents purchasing gifts for their children.

“We went to the mall the other day, and at the little booths… they were selling ‘Labubus’,” said mum Helen on TikTok, @helen_a_83.

“My daughter, she’d been wanting one for a while, so she said, ‘Mum, can I get one? I have money, I want to use my money’. So, I said sure.

“She ended up buying one, and then when we were in the car on the way home, she opened up the box and it turned out it was a freaking fake one.

“Just be aware when you’re out there trying to buy your kids Labubus!”

Lisa was horrified at the thought of sellers taking advantage of naive and often young shoppers in this way.

“While I initially laughed at how bad the fake was, I felt bad for her and wondered how many other Aussies are getting scammed out there with people taking advantage of a craze and advantage of parents who don't know what they're meant to be looking for,” Lisa said.

“It's wrong and these pop ups should be banned from operating and selling items like this.”

How do I know if it’s real?

So, that poses the question - how do you know if your Labubu is real?

While for some dolls, the answer is obvious - say, if they have strange colouring, or a receding hairline like Lisa’s doll - for other really good fakes you need to look for more discreet signs.

Check details like the eye placement and blush tone, and the number of teeth (all Labubus have 9).

But, the biggest tell is that all real Labubus have a white tag with a code to authenticate them.

If you do end up with a Lafufu, don’t fret! Plenty of people are choosing to mix and match real and fake for an extra-accessorised look - so you’ll be just like the celebs.

Originally published as Sydney mum's 'scam' warning over Labubu craze