On the morning of the 22nd, more than 100 Chinese stood in line in front of the figure store 'Pop Mart' located in Myeongdong, Jung-gu, Seoul. They are 'resellers' who buy figures and take them back to China to sell at a high price.
The store opens at 11 a.m., and some of the Chinese resellers reportedly line up as early as 5 a.m. They aim to be the first to choose the desired items by doing an 'open run' as soon as the store opens. On that day, the popular item 'The Monsters Labubu Tasty Macaron Series Random Box (6 pieces)' sold out in less than 30 minutes after the store opened.
A Chinese reseller, Mr. A, said, "Limited edition figures can be purchased two per person, and since one can be sold in China for 1 million won each with a premium, one can make up to 2 million won at a time."
◇Chinese resellers divide roles as 'Korean purchasing staff' and 'Chinese selling bosses' for organized activities
At 11:30 a.m. that day, six Chinese resellers were organizing items outside the figure store after finishing their 'open run.' There appeared to be more than 50 packaged figure products. The figures began to be moved to waiting vehicles.
Reseller B stated, "We operate in an organized manner, and there is a separate boss," adding, "Once figures are handed over to the boss, he sells them in China." He also mentioned that they are doing 'open runs' not only in Myeongdong but also in Yongsan and Hongdae to gather popular figures from China.
Among the figures sold in Korea, those popular in China are known as 'Art Toy.' It is a combination of Pop Art and Toy. It became notable as it was trendy in China and was said that K-pop idols and actors, including BLACKPINK's Lisa, collect them.
Reseller C remarked, "Art Toys are difficult to purchase in China, and while products do come up at their original prices on online secondhand trading platforms, many are 'knock-offs' and hard to trust," adding, "Ultimately, a distribution structure emerged where resellers buy in Korea and resell in China."
◇"You can earn over 1 million won by reselling just one"
The retail price of the 'Highlight The Monsters Big Into Energy Series Random Box (6 pieces)' purchased by a Chinese reseller that day in Myeongdong is 126,000 won, while it is sold for 286,000 won in China. Ignoring other expenses for simple calculations, the profit exceeds 100%. Although the figure store limits the purchase quantity per person, if one operates in an organized manner like the Chinese resellers, they can earn several million won in a day.
There are 'jackpot' products that can yield much higher profits. Rare Art Toys that appear with a probability of 1 in 72 in a random box (6 pieces) are sold at high prices. Among them, the 'Labubu' keychain has a retail price of about 20,000 won each, but the resale price in China is around 280,000 won. This represents a margin of 1,300%.
Reseller D invited the reporter to smell the Labubu keychain. It had a sweet floral scent. D said, "Figures with such characteristics fetch high prices," adding, "Limited edition figures can sometimes come with a premium of over 1 million won each."