What Is a KAWS Figure? Companion, BFF and Chum Explained (Plus How to Spot a Fake)

You have seen the X-ed out eyes — on a 40-metre inflatable floating at the foot of Mount Fuji, on a $25 enamel pin, and on a vinyl figure that resells for the price of a used car. What almost nobody explains is how those things relate to each other, which ones are actually collectible, and what a first KAWS piece should cost. This guide decodes the characters (Companion, BFF, Chum), the difference between an open edition and a limited edition, the sizes you should expect, and how to check a piece before you pay for it. Every price below is a real, live price from our own shelves — starting with KAWS – Time Off, 2023 at $399 for a single colourway — and the full lineup lives in our KAWS collection.

What Is a KAWS Figure?

KAWS is Brian Donnelly, an American artist who came out of 1990s graffiti and advertising-poster interventions and now shows in museums. A "KAWS figure" is a sculpture of one of his characters, produced as a collectible object — most famously in vinyl, by the Japanese toy manufacturer Medicom Toy, and in the 2000s under OriginalFake, the label and Tokyo store KAWS ran with Medicom. The signature is instant: crossed-out eyes, and hands and skull shapes borrowed from cartoon language everybody already knows.

The first one, Companion, arrived in 1999 through the Japanese brand Bounty Hunter: an eight-inch vinyl figure with a Mickey-shaped silhouette, a skull head and XX eyes, in an edition of 500. Everything on this page descends from that release. What you are buying, in other words, is not "a toy of a character from a show" — there is no show. The character is the artwork, and the figure is an edition of it. That is why KAWS prices behave more like art-market prices than like figure prices, and why a piece's edition size and condition matter far more here than they do on a shelf full of anime figures.

The Characters: Companion, BFF, Chum

Three names cover most of what you will meet, and knowing them makes any listing readable:

• Companion — the flagship. A grey/brown/black cartoon figure with XX eyes and gloved hands, appearing seated, walking, kneeling, reclining or carrying another character depending on the release. The 2013 Passing Through Brown ($3,500), head in hands, is the most reproduced pose in the whole catalogue.
• BFF — introduced in 2017, rounder and furrier than Companion, usually blue or pink, and the warmest character in the cast. It rarely appears alone in the sculpture releases: Gone (2019, $1,699 in black, $1,750 in brown, $1,999 in grey) pairs Companion and BFF in a pose that reads as a pietà, and Share Black (2020, $1,199) has Companion carrying a miniature BFF.
• Chum — the stout, segmented, Michelin-man-shaped character, and the one whose merchandise is most affordable. Chum turned twenty in 2022, which is exactly what our Chum 20th Anniversary Yellow ($450) is; the same character shows up at pocket-money prices on the Chum enamel pin set of three ($45).

Beyond those you will run into early-2000s characters like Bendy — ours is Bendy Grey, 2003 ($2,599) — and collaboration pieces such as the UNDERCOVER Bear Companion White (2009, $1,500) and the KAWS x Robert Lazzarini Companion Grey (2010, $2,950). Collaborations are worth knowing about because they are usually smaller runs than the standard releases and are dated to a single moment, which is most of what drives their price.

Open Edition vs Limited Edition — the Only Distinction That Really Moves Price

Two words on a listing decide most of a KAWS piece's market behaviour.

Open editions (OE) are the vinyl figures produced in large, unnumbered runs and sold through retailers and KAWS's own store. They are the entry point to owning a real sculpture, and they are what most people mean by "a KAWS figure": Along The Way Grey (2019, $1,499), the Promise trio at $850 grey, $850 black and $950 brown, or Family Grey/Pink (2022, $1,199).

Limited editions are numbered, far smaller, and often tied to an exhibition, a collaboration or a museum — the Cereal Monsters set of four (2024, $1,850) and Companion Partners (2012, $1,950) sit in that tier. Two practical consequences: colourway matters (the same sculpt in brown, grey and black are three different markets, as our own Gone and Promise pricing shows), and sealed vs opened matters, which is why listings like Bendy Red, 2003 (Sealed) ($2,999) say so in the title.

How Big Is a KAWS Figure, and What Should a First One Cost?

Sizes are more consistent than prices. Standard open-edition Companion vinyls stand around 11 in / 28 cm; the bigger two-character sculptures such as Gone run closer to 14 in / 36 cm; plush and homeware sit wherever the release decided. Always read the listing rather than the photo — a figure shot alone on white gives you no scale reference at all, which is the single most common cause of a "smaller than I expected" reaction on any collectible.

Price is where expectations need managing, so here is the honest ladder from our own live catalogue, which runs $24.99 to $3,500 across 45 pieces:

• $24.99–$45 — pins and magnets. The Skeleton enamel pin ($24.99) and the Brooklyn Museum WHAT PARTY magnets ($30) are real licensed KAWS objects, and they are the sane way to start.
• $35–$99 — print and paper. The What Party booklet ($35), the Tokyo First Space Holiday puzzle ($65), the He Eats Alone hardcover ($99).
• $199–$600 — homeware, plush and the cheapest sculptures. The Holiday JAPAN Fire-King mug set ($199), the Mount Fuji plush set of three ($200), the Sesame Street UNIQLO plush set of five ($600).
• $750–$1,999 — the open-edition vinyl heartland. Time Off, Promise, Share, Along The Way, Family, Gone.
• $2,400–$3,500 — early and rare. 2000s-era pieces and one-off collaborations, up to Passing Through Brown at $3,500.

If you are buying a first piece as a gift, buy from the top two bands. If you are buying an investment, understand you are entering an art resale market, not a toy aisle — and that nobody, including us, can promise you which way it moves.

KAWS:HOLIDAY, and Why There Are Plates and Plush

Since 2018 the KAWS:HOLIDAY project has installed giant reclining or floating Companion sculptures in a series of cities — Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and an outer-space edition among them — each accompanied by a small run of location-specific merchandise. That is the whole explanation for why a serious art brand has ceramic plates in its catalogue. The Japan stop in 2019 put a 40-metre inflatable Companion at the foot of Mount Fuji and produced the Mount Fuji ceramic plate set of four ($299) and the plush set above; the 2021 Singapore stop produced the Holiday Singapore set of three ($995). These are dated, place-specific editions that were not reprinted, which is why a plush can sit at $200 without anything strange going on.

KAWS vs Be@rbrick vs Funko: Which Shelf Are You Building?

All three get called "art toys" and they behave completely differently. KAWS is an artist's edition: one artist, few releases per year, prices from $25 to five figures. Be@rbrick is a platform — Medicom's bear silhouette in fixed 100%/400%/1000% sizes, decorated by hundreds of different artists and brands, which makes it the most collectable-by-theme of the three; ours run from $14.99 series blind boxes up past $1,700 in the Be@rbrick Art Toys collection, and we wrote the beginner's version in the Be@rbrick Collecting Guide. Funko Pop is licensed character merch at $10–$30 where the collectability lives in chases and exclusives, explained in What Is a Funko Pop Chase?. KAWS has designed for the Be@rbrick platform too, which is where the two worlds meet on one shelf.

If you came here from anime figures, the mental adjustment is this: a prize figure is cheap because it was built to be won at an arcade, while a KAWS vinyl is expensive because it is an edition of an artwork. Both are on the same site — the wider art-toy shelf is in Arts and the whole figure catalogue in Figures — but they are not the same purchase.

How to Spot a Fake KAWS

KAWS is one of the most counterfeited names in collectibles, because the genuine pieces are expensive enough to make faking them profitable. None of the following is specific to us; it is the check to run on any listing, anywhere:

• Price that is too good. An open-edition vinyl at a fraction of the going rate is not a find, it is a different object. This is still the most reliable single signal.
• The copyright and manufacturer stamp on the figure itself. Genuine production pieces carry KAWS and manufacturer copyright markings moulded or printed on the figure, with the year. Ask for a clear photo of it before you buy, and walk away from a seller who will not take one.
• Box print and the colourway sticker. Authentic packaging has crisp small type and a product sticker whose colourway matches the figure inside. Blurred fine print, drifting colour temperature or a sticker that does not match the piece are all reasons to stop.
• Seams, paint and weight. Vinyl reproductions bleed at the paint boundaries first, and often feel lighter or hollower than the real thing.
• Provenance and the seller's returns policy. The practical protection is not a certificate, it is buying from somewhere that has to take the piece back. If a seller has no stated return window, the authenticity question is entirely your risk.

We list every piece with its year, colourway and edition detail in the product title for exactly this reason — you should be able to see what you are buying before you buy it, not after.

Shipping, the Box, and 30-Day Returns

Three practical things before you order. Shipping: US and international orders over $70 USD ship free; below that the flat rate is $9.99 within the US and $14.99 internationally, and orders to Africa ship free over $199 USD with a $29 flat rate below that. At KAWS prices essentially every order clears the free-shipping threshold. Delivery: our shipping policy states delivery usually takes up to 10 working days, not counting weekends and holidays; not all merchandise ships from the same location, so international orders can take longer through customs. Returns: Magic Stories runs a 30-day return policy — you have 30 days after receiving your item to request a return by emailing mail@magicstories.co, and the item must come back in the same condition you received it, unused, with tags and in its original packaging. On a collectible edition that clause is the whole ball game: the box is part of the value, so inspect the piece with the packaging intact, keep the outer shipper, and decide whether you are keeping it before anything gets displayed. If a piece arrives damaged or is the wrong item, contact us straight away and we will sort it out — and if a return is approved, we send you the return shipping label rather than making you find one.

Quick Answers

• What is a KAWS figure? A KAWS figure is a collectible sculpture of one of the artist Brian Donnelly's characters — Companion, BFF, Chum and others — most often produced in vinyl by the Japanese manufacturer Medicom Toy, and in the 2000s under the OriginalFake label. The first, Companion, was released in 1999 in an edition of 500 through Bounty Hunter. Unlike an anime figure, the character is the artwork itself rather than a licence from a show, which is why editions and condition drive the price.
• What is the difference between KAWS Companion and BFF? Companion is the original 1999 character: a Mickey-shaped figure with a skull head, gloved hands and XX eyes, usually in grey, brown or black. BFF, introduced in 2017, is rounder and furrier, usually blue or pink. They frequently appear together in the same sculpture — Gone (2019) pairs them, and Share (2020) has Companion carrying a miniature BFF.
• How big is a KAWS Companion figure? Standard open-edition Companion vinyl figures stand about 11 inches / 28 cm tall. Larger two-character releases such as Gone are closer to 14 inches / 36 cm. Sizes vary by release, so read the stated dimensions on the listing rather than judging from a photo shot on a white background.
• What is the difference between an open edition and a limited edition KAWS? Open editions are produced in large, unnumbered runs and are the accessible way to own a real KAWS sculpture. Limited editions are numbered, much smaller, and usually tied to an exhibition, museum or collaboration, so they command higher prices. Within either type, colourway and whether the piece is still sealed both affect value.
• How much does a KAWS figure cost? Across our 45 live KAWS pieces the range is $24.99 to $3,500. Pins and magnets start at $24.99 to $45; books, puzzles and print sit at $35 to $99; plush and homeware run $199 to $600; open-edition vinyl figures cluster between $750 and $1,999; and early or rare 2000s pieces reach $2,400 to $3,500.
• How can I tell if a KAWS figure is fake? Start with price, since a genuine open-edition vinyl far below market is almost certainly a counterfeit. Then ask for a photo of the copyright and manufacturer stamp on the figure, check the box for crisp small print and a colourway sticker that matches the piece inside, and look for paint bleeding at edges or an unusually light, hollow feel. Most importantly, buy from a seller with a stated returns policy — that, not a certificate, is your real protection.
• What is KAWS:HOLIDAY? KAWS:HOLIDAY is a travelling installation project that has, since 2018, placed giant reclining or floating Companion sculptures in cities including Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and an outer-space edition, each with a small run of location-specific merchandise. The 2019 Japan stop put a 40-metre inflatable Companion at the foot of Mount Fuji and produced the Mount Fuji plush, mug and ceramic plate sets that still circulate today.
• Can I return a KAWS piece after opening the box? Our 30-day return policy requires the item to come back unused and in its original packaging, so a piece that has been unboxed and displayed will not usually qualify. You have 30 days from receiving the item to request a return by emailing mail@magicstories.co. Because packaging is part of a collectible edition's value, inspect the piece before the box is compromised. If it arrives damaged or is the wrong item, contact us immediately and approved returns get a return shipping label from us.