Chinese trendy toy company POP MART, which became popular for its plush toy Labubu, recently sparked heated discussion after an employee, unaware that the livestream was still on, complained that the company’s blind boxes were excessively expensive. Although the company stated it takes the matter very seriously, it will not dismiss the involved employee.
According to a report by 'Xiaoxiang Morning News', during a livestream, a female staff member held a keychain blind box priced at 79 yuan (about 46 ringgit) and commented, “Selling this thing for 79 yuan is indeed a bit….”
Her male colleague next to her immediately responded: “It’s fine, someone will buy it,” after which the female employee softly added, “It’s excessive.”
This livestream segment was later captured and widely circulated by netizens, and the topic #POP MART Livestream Incident quickly topped the Weibo trending list.
According to product information provided by netizens, the controversial 'DIMOO New Life Diary Series - Keychain Blind Box' is priced between 79 yuan and 474 yuan (about 227 ringgit). After the incident, Xiaoxiang Morning News reporters discovered that the product was shown as sold out on POP MART’s official mall and major e-commerce platforms.
On its official 'POP MART Blind Box Machine' mini app, the item is marked as expected to ship on November 14, 2025.
In response to the livestream incident, POP MART customer service said the matter had been promptly forwarded to the relevant department, the company takes it very seriously and is actively verifying the situation. Regarding online rumors that “the employee involved has been dismissed,” an internal source told media that while the livestream mishap did occur, the employee would not be dismissed.
This incident has sparked polarized comments on social media, with some netizens saying, “The employee just told the truth, the prices are indeed high,” while others pointed out, “The livestream staff were indeed unprofessional.” Currently, POP MART has not issued an official statement, but has removed the involved product from all platforms.