Pop Mart's Demon Slayer collab crashed 50% in 2 days — fastest price drop in history

Pop Mart launched a Demon Slayer collaboration blind box series on 24 April 2025 at 79元 per box. The series, riding the enormous popularity of the anime IP in China, was expected to be one of Pop Mart's strongest releases of the year. Early secondary-market prices reflected this optimism: a complete set traded at around 850元 on 12 May, a slight premium over the retail price.

Two days later the market collapsed. By 14 May the set price had fallen to 550–650元, a decline of 23–35 per cent in 48 hours. Individual figures saw even steeper drops — a popular character like Zenitsu Agatsuma fell from 120元 to 70元, a 42 per cent loss, while most other figures dropped to 40–50元, roughly half the original single-box price. Industry observers described it as the fastest price crash in Pop Mart's history.

Three forces drove the collapse. First, Pop Mart flooded the Pinduoduo marketplace with supply, with Demon Slayer boxes occupying roughly 10 per cent of the platform's blind box trade. Second, speculative buyers known as '叠叠乐' (stackers) — who buy sets at launch to resell at a premium — panicked and dumped inventory as prices fell. Third, negative reviews on Xiaohongshu and Weibo described the figures as 'poorly made' and 'worthless after restocking', accelerating the sell-off.

The case illustrates the fragility of the blind box secondary market when a brand over-supplies its own collaboration. Pop Mart's strategy of capturing both primary and secondary revenue through its Pandora platform backfired: the same supply that created a liquid marketplace also destroyed the scarcity premium that collectors and speculators rely on.