Only a day after stocking a wildly popular doll, People’s Pharmacy offered refunds to some dissatisfied customers.

Labubu dolls, with their small, bunny ears and toothy grin, have been around for six years, but they shot to popularity again this summer when tennis star Naomi Osaka took one to the US Open.

In August, People’s brought in a shipment of dolls to meet the craze.

Company chief executive Tamara Richardson said they were Labubu knock-offs, as evidenced by the price — $35 instead of $65.

“These were manufactured in a different factory, as are many of the dolls on the market all over the world right now; hence, the price difference in comparison to the authentic,” she said. “Because we sell roughly 2,000 different toy items, admittedly we did not give a large degree of thought to the shipment.”

People’s target customers were children, not collectors.

“Most customers were happy to have a fair-priced item for their child, who was not a collector, but wanted the doll for the moment of the craze,” Ms Richardson said.

The dolls made by Chinese manufacturer Pop Mart are the Beanie baby of the modern era, with some fans willing to beg, borrow or steal for them.

The Chinese Government has seized more than 1.9 million fakes, dubbed “Lafufus”. The imitations can be very convincing. To authenticate a doll, purchasers must scan a quick response code on the box label and then enter the code on the official Pop Mart authentication page.

After going through this process, some customers returned to People’s having realised the dolls were not authentic. People’s gave them their money back.

“We wanted to keep our customers happy,” Ms Richardson said. “However, over 500 people were happy with their purchase.”

The store is now completely sold out of the dolls.

Pop Mart started selling Labubu dolls in 2019 after a collaboration with artist Kasing Lung, creator of children’s book series The Monsters.

In the past six years, the dolls have repeatedly sold out with endorsements from celebrities such as Blackpink, Dua Lipa, David Beckham and Kim Kardashian. The dolls have become as much of a fashion statement as a plaything.

On August 18, the American Consumer Product Safety Commission warned the public not to buy the imitation Labubu dolls. The government agency believes some manufacturers are lax on safety standards, creating products that can easily break into small parts, becoming a choking hazard for small children.

Some of the rarer Labubu dolls sell for much more than $65. Auction house Sotheby’s recently sold a set of dolls for almost $26,000 at a special event.