Blind boxes beyond Labubu: how to pick your first series (Smiski, Sonny Angel and Pop Mart's other lines)

Two caveats. We have not handled these figures ourselves, so descriptions of look and feel come from brand and retailer pages and press coverage, and we label them as such. Prices and odds change by series, store and country, so read the actual product page before you buy. This is general information, not financial advice.

Why "the next Labubu" is the wrong question

Pop Mart's 2025 annual results show how concentrated the market became. The Monsters, the family that includes Labubu, earned 14.16 billion yuan, up 365.7 percent, and accounted for roughly 38 percent of company revenue according to coverage of the filing. The next IPs were much smaller: Skullpanda at 3.54 billion yuan, Crybaby at 2.93 billion, Molly at about 2.9 billion and Dimoo at 2.78 billion, with Twinkle Twinkle and Hirono at 2.06 billion and 1.74 billion yuan. The company says six IPs passed 2 billion yuan and 17 passed 100 million.

Revenue tells you what is popular, not what you will enjoy. But it does show that the alternatives are real products with supply behind them, not obscure niche lines. It also shows that Pop Mart is not the only game: Dreams Inc., the Japanese company behind Smiski and Sonny Angel, sells in the same format at a different price point. Rather than hunt for a replacement for one character, pick the series that matches how you will actually use it.

The three families, compared on what matters

Smiski: small, glow-in-the-dark, about $12 to $13. Smiski is a line of blind box figures from Dreams Inc., available since 2015, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia says that each series typically has about six regular designs and one secret, for seven in total. Retailer listings agree: a US store lists series at $12.50, and Australian listings for the Moving series give 6 regular figures plus 1 secret with a 1 in 72 chance of the secret, while Series 1 and Yoga are listed at 1 in 144. That tells you something useful: even within one brand, odds differ by series, so read each page.

The figures are glow-in-the-dark, and the retailer description of the Moving series says they are easier to spot when the lights go out. For a beginner the draw is the small design count. With six regular designs, the expected number of single boxes needed to see every regular design is about 14.7 under equal odds, which is the calculation in our budgeting guide. At $12.50 a box that is roughly $184, though real results vary and duplicates are normal. Wikipedia also notes that resale activity for Smiski is more modest than for higher-value blind boxes, which cuts both ways: less speculation, less upside.

Sonny Angel: cherub figures with a two-decade history, about $14. Sonny Angel is also from Dreams Inc. Retailers describe the character as a cherub inspired by the Kewpie doll, and one retailer says the line marked its 20th anniversary in 2025, though sources give 2004 or 2005 as the start. A press feature describes it as a softer, more wholesome alternative to Labubu's mischievous look. The Hippers sub-line, which has an adhesive so it can stick to a laptop, phone or shelf, is listed in US stores at $13.75 and $14.99.

A Hippers series has 12 regular designs and one secret. Retailers state the secret odds as 1 in 144 for many series, but one of them says explicitly that the ratio varies by release. The set size is the catch: under the same equal-odds assumption, a 12-design series needs about 37.2 boxes on average to see every regular design. At $13.75 that is about $512, in line with the arithmetic for any 12-design series. Sonny Angel can therefore be a good "display a few favourites" line, and a more expensive "complete the set" line. An Australian retailer lists the material as PVC with a recommended age of 15 and over, which is also worth knowing for gifts to young children.

Pop Mart's other characters: wider range, higher entry price. Pop Mart's catalogue is the widest. A retailer's collector guide describes Skullpanda as dark and streetwear-leaning and Dimoo as soft and introspective, though those are one retailer's descriptions, not the brand's. Hirono grew from 730 million yuan in 2024, up 106.9 percent, to 1.74 billion yuan in 2025, according to company-results coverage. Crybaby, Molly and the rest vary in size and format, including plush pendants.

Price is the hard fact to check. We found Labubu vinyl plush blind boxes listed at $26.99 to $27.99 in the US, which is roughly double Dreams Inc.'s mini figures, but we did not find current US prices for each other Pop Mart line, so confirm the price on the product page. Pop Mart says drop rates are set by series and shown on the product page or packaging, and several of its policies state that a secret is not guaranteed in any purchase, so the same rule applies: odds differ per series.

The expected-box figures assume every regular design is equally likely and boxes are independent, which production does not always guarantee, so use them to compare series and not to predict your own pulls. Retail prices shown are individual store listings, not national averages.

Choosing by how you will use it

• You want to complete something. Choose a series with few regular designs, such as the six-design Smiski format, so a small budget gets you closer to a finished set.
• You want it near you every day. A small, sticky-backed figure like Sonny Angel Hippers is built for desks and devices, and the glow-in-the-dark detail on Smiski suits a bedside shelf. Bag-charm plush is its own category with its own care needs.
• You want to try the hobby. Buy one or two boxes of a series you like looking at rather than a case, and pay the highest price only for a design you would be glad to own as a duplicate.
• You are buying a gift. Check the age marking. One retailer lists Sonny Angel Hippers as 15 and over, so a younger child's gift may need another line. Our compliance and pet-safety guides cover safety questions in more depth.

Availability and purchase limits: what you can actually get

A series you cannot buy is no use as a first purchase, and limits vary by seller. Sonny Angel's own store listed a Hippers series with an order limit of one blind box, noting that the limit exists to reach more customers. One US collectibles shop set a limit of 12 per customer per household on a Hippers series, another sold a Dreaming series in store only, and a German shop restricted some Hippers boxes to two pieces per order. These are individual seller policies at the time we saw them, and stock moves quickly, so treat them as a sign that popular releases are rationed, not as rules you will meet everywhere.

The practical consequence is that a case or "assorted box" of 12 is often hard to get, and where a seller sells 12 together it may describe them as a sealed set with a chance at the secret. If completing a set matters to you, check the seller's case policy before you plan your budget around it, and compare the case price with 12 single boxes.

Vinyl, plush and plush-vinyl hybrids

Format changes both the look and the care. A figure sold as "vinyl plush", the format of many Labubu releases, combines a vinyl face with a plush body, and a retailer care guide makes the point that vinyl and plush figures need very different cleaning. Dreams Inc.'s Smiski and Sonny Angel mini figures are vinyl; an Australian retailer lists the Sonny Angel Hippers material as PVC.

If a figure will live on a bag, desk or phone, think about what it will rub against and how often it will be handled; a sticky-backed Hippers figure sits against a surface, while a plush pendant hangs and swings. If it will sit on a shelf, the display and dust questions matter more than the format.

A three-box trial that caps the risk

Before committing to a series, try three boxes. At the prices above, three Smiski boxes at $12.50 come to $37.50, three Sonny Angel Hippers boxes at $13.75 to about $41, and three Labubu vinyl plush boxes at $27.99 to about $84. Open them, and decide whether you would happily buy a fourth. If the answer is no, you have spent a small amount to learn something. If it is yes, you can set a monthly cap before the series pulls you in.

We would not treat the trial as a way to chase a secret: at 1 in 72 or 1 in 144, three boxes will almost certainly not include one.

How to read a series page before you pay

• Designs. Count the designs in the series, and note which one is the secret. Fewer designs make a set cheaper.
• Odds. Find the odds on the page or on the packaging. If the brand does not state them, assume nothing and do not rely on a reseller's number.
• Cost per attempt. Divide the budget by the box price to see how many attempts you really have.
• Material and age. Check the product's materials and recommended age, especially for gifts or homes with pets.
• Returns. Read the return policy: blind boxes are generally not returnable for a change of mind or an unwanted duplicate in the policies we have seen.
• Seller. Buy from the brand's official store or an authorised retailer. One retailer page in our research stresses that the outer foil should be intact, which matters if a secret is what you want.

What the market numbers mean for a beginner

Pop Mart's results also describe a slowdown after the boom, with coverage in late 2026 citing a steep drop in third-quarter revenue and falling resale prices. We covered the details in our budgeting guide. For a beginner the lesson is the same across brands: buy what you want to look at, expect most figures to be worth about what you paid or less on the resale market, and treat any gain as a surprise. Smiski's more modest resale market and Pop Mart's volatile one are two answers to the same question, not a ranking.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

• Pop Mart 2025 annual results coverage — franchise revenue by IP, the 2 billion and 100 million thresholds, and the 38 percent concentration figure.
• Dreams Inc. product pages and retailer listings for Smiski and Sonny Angel Hippers — per-series pricing, design counts, secret odds and age markings.
• Seller pages documenting purchase limits (one box, 12 per household, in-store only) at the time of writing.
• Our blind box budget guide for the expected-box arithmetic, and the pull-rate guide for the per-series odds tables.