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If you haven't heard, Labubus are the latest craze in viral toys and celebrity accessory, with some shoppers flying miles to get their hands on one. The monster keychain plush doll has brought crowds to the toy stores in Colorado that can get enough stock in.
Labubu shopper Tory Piazza shared, "I'm actually from New Orleans, and we don't really have them down there, so I figured in a city like this, they've got to have something."
In Denver, fans aren't just filling stores, but when a new shipment comes in from China or elsewhere, they're waiting in lines that rival any Black Friday line.
With dozens of people waiting, some even told CBS Colorado they wait at the store starting at midnight before a new stock comes in.
Labubu shoppers are all ages, but one 7 year old explained her reasoning her classmates collect the doll, simply, "It's cute and it's super cute."
Truong An Gifts is one of Denver's most popular places to buy a real Labubu.
"I'm fairly certain I was the first in Colorado, but we tried to make it as fun and have as much variety as possible, so that everyone has access to whatever they want," owner Michael Ye said.
In the last year, Ye says Labubu sales have doubled his revenue as the popular toy goes viral on social media across the globe.
"Being a small business, we're not used to having lines and dealing with the amount of people in here at certain times, so we've kind of had to adapt on the fly," Ye said, "I've been telling people that we could possibly be looking at the next Mickey Mouse."
Truong An Gifts starts their Labubu sales at $59.99 but some individual keychain plush Labubu's can be sold or re-sold for more than $1,000. But if you ask any Labubu fan, the moment they get to unbox a new plush is priceless.
So far this year, the toy series brought its makers Pop Mart $670 million, which is more than Barbie and Hot Wheels. The doll is so popular, that the market for fake Labubus, or "Lafufus" started popping up everywhere. The fake version became so common that earlier this month the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an alert to discourage buying the fake doll as the small parts can break and become a choking hazard.
Some of the ways Ye says consumers can check for a real toy include their tag scanning back to the Pop Mart website, the body standing straight up, and in some versions a UV light will show a print on the doll's foot.
So even in the age of tech, this viral trend is bringing toy stores back into fashion.
"I enjoy opening the blind boxes and collecting stuff as well, obviously. But for some people, it kind of transcends that, almost the happiness that it can bring," Ye said.