The commentary also mentioned the rush to buy Labubu dolls in the secondary market, referencing the auction in Beijing earlier this month where a human-sized Labubu figure was sold for a record 1.08 million yuan (US$150,220).
“In some secondhand markets, scalpers maliciously hoard goods and resell them at high prices, seriously disrupting normal market order,” the commentary said, adding that some merchants were selling imitation Labubu products under labels such as “affordable substitutes” or “one-to-one high imitations”.
The People’s Daily commentary also criticised cases where scalpers used software to buy genuine Labubu products, then colluded with “high-imitation merchants” to mix authentic and fake dolls for resale.
This has made it difficult for consumers to protect themselves, as a “black market chain” has been formed, said the commentary.
“The blatant sale of these high-end Labubu (dolls) not only seriously infringes on Pop Mart’s intellectual property rights and damages its brand image, but it also greatly infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.”
The People’s Daily’s commentary further called on online platforms to “fulfil their principal responsibilities”, such as strengthening reviews on merchants and penalising those who sell counterfeit products, as well as protecting consumers’ rights and interests.
It also called on regulators to enhance consumer protection mechanisms, step up intellectual property enforcement, and intensify crackdowns on copyright infringement and counterfeits.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/china-customs-seizes-fake-labubu-toys-counterfeit-scalpers-5191741
