I Bought Six Labubus in Lynnwood, Washington on Saturday
Opening day at Alderwood’s first permanent Pop Mart
⏰ Sun, Jul 13, 2025 @ 1:45 PM PST
🐟 Published from Seattle, WA, USA
🔨 Built by Chase Burns Broderick
At around 10:30 am on Saturday, July 12, I casually walked up to the new permanent Pop Mart location at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington, and I saw a handful of people waiting in a tidy line out front. This was not a long line. In London, there were brawls for the new “Big Into Energy” Labubu that’s sold out worldwide. In Lynnwood, everything was chill.
Of course, I was in the wrong line.
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The right line.
Once I walked down two hallways, exited the Food Court, and turned around to the Macy’s parking lot, I found an indefinitely long line and a friendly person handing out tickets for their opening day celebration. This day was drawing a crowd because, mainly, the opening day would feature something everyone wanted: Labubu. Lots of Labubus. Boxes and boxes of fresh Labubus, today only.
#81. Not bad? A Pop Mart employee told me they opened their doors at 8 am. Another employee told me someone showed up at 11 pm to be the first person in line.
Three hours of Labubu anticipation
Everyone in line was friendly. They felt Canadian. (When I asked Samir Kulkarni, the CEO of Canadian-based trendy toy company Showcase, how queues were doing in Canada, he joked that “crowd-control worries are overblown; Canadians are too polite to shove.”)
In general, the line was very well-managed, considering the overall wait time was about three hours.
The inside is really nice—on the right, new Space Mollys; on the left, new Dimoo and Skullpanda products. But everyone who’s allowed to enter went straight for the cashier. All anybody wanted was Labubu.
Big Into Energy’s global surge
Like my trip earlier this week to Lloyd Center in Portland, Oregon, this mall—just north of Seattle and now reachable from the city by light rail and bus—was full of shoppers looking for blind boxes. There were more Labubus at the mall on this day than any other day, probably, ever. The numbers back up why.
Pop Mart had already pumped an estimated 4–5 million Labubu 3.0 blind boxes into China during a June presale, then announced a stateside app-only pre-sale (six-per-user limit) in early July that will pump the U.S. market with more Labubus next. Search interest is also still surging, momentum strong enough for Pop Mart to double down on the IP.
Put together, the production runs, rising searches, and fresh drops explain why Labubus stay the #1 most wanted object. The frenzy isn’t local hype, it’s the latest crest in a sustained, global wave.
Hell, Axios just discovered Labubu.
Finding the perfect Labubu
As I got near the front of the line, around 1:30 pm, a manager came out and announced that everyone should check the store’s Instagram for updates. People laughed, then checked, mad. “ALMOST SOLD OUT” flashed over a picture of the latest Labubu series, Big Into Energy—but I’ll report that the 81st person (me), at least, got six Labubus, the maximum anyone was allowed to buy.
I wanted the green one. I got the green one. I went back into the parking lot and immediately flipped the others on Mercari. The $15 up-charge will cover the shipping, three-hour wait, and convenience of getting the exact Labubu you want. The smart, fashionable buyers in Alabama, Minnesota, Texas, Indiana, and Florida will love them.
“Serenity” Big Into Energy Labubu Plush Vinyl Charm by Pop Mart + “Water Wood” Charm Tint Lip Gloss by Entropy + Pants by Gramicci
If this "buy-the-whole-set-and-sell-the-ones-you-don’t-want” strategy seems morally corrupt, well, I’m sorry—it’s also the exact energy fueling the blind box trend. I waited three hours in line, spent around $180 on a set, went into the parking lot, logged onto Mercari, and made about $225 off five of the six—subtrack the shipping for those five, plus fees, and I’m doing a charity to the yearning, trendy people in rural areas who deserve nice dolls, too. I say this having grown up in rural Idaho. How else do you think they’re getting Labubus? I didn’t see you getting dolls for kids in need!
The rules: The company guarantees a perfect set to customers who purchase an entire case. If a duplicate appears, Pop Mart will replace the missing figure and take the duplicate back. The company’s official product sheets explicitly nudge collectors to buy 6-, 9-, or 12-box cases. There are incentives to buy by the box, not the single—and the current recommerce boom makes that flipping feel inevitable: ThredUp’s 2025 Resale Report projects the global second-hand apparel market to hit $367 billion by 2029.
MINISO at Alderwood Mall gave me a giant plush panda bear for signing up and spending $30. I almost turned it down, but my cat is already obsessed with it and won’t stop grooming it—so, ironically, this might be the object that stays with me the longest… Thanks, MINISO?
Other blind-box finds at Alderwood
The good news, for customers who didn’t get the exact Labubu of their choice, is that Alderwood Mall, like many malls now, has many trendy toy blind box options. Hot Topic and MINISO carry the popular One Piece “Devil Fruit” stress squishies, while Urban Outfitters just swapped its impulse end-cap for ddung blind-box mini dolls—shimmer-haired, K-toy cult favorites that come dressed in nursery-school outfits and secret “doctor” chases—right beside the vinyl-toy blind bags.
From Hot Topic and MINISO: Glows sunset-orange; firm but slow-rise memory foam—perfect desktop fidget.
Pastel pink. Softer density.
Firmest of the three. Marbled burgundy-to-scarlet coloring gives it a smoldering look.
From Urban Outfitters: Ddung blind-box packaging showing nine school-uniform doll designs plus a mystery chase figure.
Turquoise-haired ddung mini doll wearing a white cloud dress and fluffy white ushanka hat, photographed in sunlight on khaki pants.
Anyways, the point stands: malls are back.
I guess I’m on the mall rat beat now?
