KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 26 — Going to shopping malls and stumbling upon a long queue of people outside a store has become a common sight these days.

While these would typically be for new restaurants or clearance sales, increasingly they are forming — including some overnight — for the releases of limited edition items or rare collectibles.

From sneakers to jewellery and even plushies, here are five collectable items that had Malaysians getting in line both physically and online.

1. Pop Mart’s Labubu Dolls

You will be familiar with these dolls if you or those you know are into Blackpink, but for everyone else, they are plush toys designed by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung in 2015 and part of a larger group of characters called The Monsters

The dolls are easily recognisable through their naughty grins, serrated teeth and pointy ears, and have been in the news as a result of the chaotic crowds trying to purchase them.

While Pop Mart items are already known in the collectibles arena, the Labubu dolls exploded in popularity due to the Blackpink connection.

In April, Kpop star Lalisa ‘Lisa’ Manoban of Blackpink posted a photo with a Labubu Macaron figurine on Instagram, sending fans worldwide scrambling to get their hands on one.

While the craze has subsided elsewhere, it is still well and alive in Malaysia, with pre-orders on Pop Mart still selling out near instantaneously.

However, this has also led to unsavoury phenomena such as scalpers, scammers, and counterfeiters.

One Malaysian woman reportedly claimed to have lost nearly RM20,000 trying to buy the dolls online.

Currently, Labubu dolls in the Pop Mart market range from RM35.80 to RM4,199.

2. Nike SB Dunk Lows

Although the hype around sneakers isn’t what it once was in Malaysia, local sneakerheads and resellers will still queue for hours for some new releases.

Two such releases were Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Visty’ by Verdy and the Nike SB Dunk Low x Futura Laboratories. Both are limited-run special editions

The Nike SB Dunk Low x Futura Laboratories was designed by renowned New York graffiti artist Leonard McGurr aka Futura. It features bleached canvas as the backdrop with colourful overlays, puff-print details, custom tongue labels and insole art, plus a translucent sole revealing Futura's iconic signature.

The Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Visty’ was designed in partnership with Tokyo-based artist Verdy and the fluffy pastel-coloured motif is based on his plush toy character named ‘Visty’, which was first brought to life at his 2021 solo exhibition RISE ABOVE in Tokyo.

A local collectables reseller Muzzy (not his real name) told Malay Mail that he went for both launches at a local boutique shop Showroom in KL, which was among those that was able to secure some of the limited-run shoes.

To reduce scalping, however, the store would only sell to raffle winners. The first raffle ticket is free when buying your first pair, but subsequent tickets must be bought in a RM150 mystery pack, with no guarantee of getting your hands on the shoes.

Still, Muzzy said this did not deter some resellers from spending thousands of ringgit on the raffle tickets to try and purchase extra pairs for resale.

The retail price is RM589 for the Nike SB Dunk Low x Futura Laboratories and RM575 for the Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Visty’, with both being listed as "out of stock” at local retailers.

Some scalpers online are listing the Nike SB Dunk Low x Futura Laboratories for RM2,199 while the Nike SB Dunk Low ‘Visty’ are being sold for RM2,099.

3. SVG Worldwide + EK: Astral collection

Who says local fashion brands don’t have hype?

Local streetwear fashion brand Savage (SVG) Worldwide has collaborated with local jewellery maker EK’s Collection to drop their Astral Collection, which consists of necklaces, bracelets and rings back in November — and it is easily one of the hottest items this year.

During its launch at this year’s edition of the SneakerLah festival, crowds had sprinted to the booth just to get their hands on the items.

The online release for the Astral Collection on November 5 also saw all the products snapped up almost immediately, with their bracelets (RM329 each) selling out in five minutes.

The last item to go was their SVG + EK Twin Light Ring (RM179), which took 18 minutes before selling out.

4. Trading card game (TCG)

Unboxing videos are already among the most watched online, but there has been a surge of interest in those related to collectible card games (CCG) packs, also known as trading card game, especially with one for Pokemon.

While the packs are not new, there has been a resurgence of interest.

According to Malaysian Yo-Yo world champion Hassan Marialis, who is also the owner of Gaming Culture and Collectibles (GCC) that sells trading cards and collectibles, there has been a noticeable rise in demand this year.

There are typically two groups of buyers: players and collectors of rare cards.

While rare cards can be insanely valuable, finding them requires patience, determination and, most importantly, money... lots of it.

Unlike the other collectables here, there are no lines for TCG packs. Instead, buyers just take boxes at a time in the hopes of increasing the likelihood of finding the cards they want.

Hassan said that currently in Malaysia, the TCGs most in demand were those for Pokemon and One Piece (a popular Japanese anime).

TCG rarity is determined by several factors such as its issues, stamps and types.

"The most I’ve sold is around four to five cartons of the One Piece TCG to a single customer and one carton is sold around RM2,004 or RM2,005 and if it's not a reissue version, one carton could go up to RM3,000,” Hassan said.

According to Malaysia Gazette in March, Malaysian TCG player Guan Rong won the One Piece Card Game World Finals and was awarded a one-of-a-kind One Piece World Championship TCG card valued at RM10 million.

5. Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch line

Luxury watch maker Omega collaborated with sister brand Swatch to come up with the Bioceramic MoonSwatch.

The first 11 MoonSwatch were released in 2022 and named after the planets in our solar system.

Models such as the Mission to Mars, Mission to Jupiter, Mission to Uranus, and Mission to Neptune were sold exclusively at the outlet in Pavilion KL during its Malaysia release, causing a long queue. with some even camping in front of the Swatch store.

However, this year’s releases such as the Super Blue Moonphase and the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase have seen lower demand.

Both the MoonSwatch’s Super Blue Moonphase and the Mission to the Moonphase are currently retailed at RM1,370 per piece.