Exclusive Sale on KakaoTalk Gift in Three Rounds
Over 300,000 Pre-Notification Applicants... Access Delays Occurred
Release Price in the 20,000 Won Range... Resell Price Surpasses 1.3 Million Won
The 'LABUBU' keyring, which KakaoTalk Gift exclusively secured and sold, sold out in an instant immediately after its launch.
On July 9, Kakao announced that it had sold the keyring of the Chinese character 'LABUBU', which is currently enjoying worldwide popularity, in three rounds?at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.?through the 'For Me' tab on KakaoTalk Gift.
As of 8 a.m. that day, the number of people who signed up for advance notifications for the 10 a.m. round alone surpassed 160,000, and the total number of advance notification applicants for all three rounds exceeded 300,000. Although Kakao staggered the sale times to prevent server overload, the number of users far exceeded expectations, resulting in access delays.
The competition to purchase the keyring was fierce. Many users failed to buy the product because it sold out during the ordering process, and there were also numerous cases where orders were canceled automatically during payment, even after the order was completed. On social media, disappointed users posted comments such as, "I've been waiting since 9 a.m. but failed in the end," "Got kicked out during payment," "Failed all three times," "Who actually managed to buy it?" and "The page wouldn't even load."
The 'LABUBU' keyring, exclusively stocked and sold by KakaoTalk Gift, sold out completely immediately after its launch. KakaoTalk Gift screen
LABUBU is a character doll from the Chinese toy company Pop Mart, known for its fluffy fur, rabbit-like upright ears, nine sharp teeth, and mischievous expression. The dolls are sold in a random box format through Pop Mart, so buyers do not know which doll they will get until they open the box, prompting them to purchase repeatedly to obtain the one they want. Thanks to its distinctive appearance and rarity, LABUBU has sparked a global collecting craze.
Recently, celebrities such as Blackpink's Lisa and Rose, as well as pop star Rihanna, have been seen attaching LABUBU dolls to luxury bags, elevating the doll's status to that of a luxury accessory. On June 18, the limited-edition trading platform Kream announced that LABUBU's transaction volume in June surged by 121% compared to the previous month and by 7,711% compared to the same period last year, establishing it as one of the most popular items on Kream.
With soaring popularity, the resell market has also become overheated. The 'LABUBU The Monsters Highlight Series Self Keyring', which has a release price of 21,000 won, was traded for 1,099,000 won on Kream on June 17. This represents an increase of about 5,133% compared to the original price. The 'LABUBU x Pronounce Fantasy Wing Doll', a collaboration with a fashion brand, also has a retail price of 128,000 won, but its resell price on Kream has exceeded 1,300,000 won.
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