"This is blatant sabotage"— Fans slam HYBE as SEVENTEEN faces album delivery delays despite the group's record-breaking sale contributions

HYBE, the agency behind SEVENTEEN, is under fire after reports emerged of delayed shipping for the group’s fifth full-length album, HAPPY BURSTDAY. On June 4, 2025, the official Weverse Shop released a notice informing fans that the original shipping schedule for the album has been postponed.

The statement cited “insufficient production quantity” as the cause, explaining that the albums had sold out during the pre-order phase in April, which affected the ability to meet original shipping commitments. The initial shipping date of May 26 has now been pushed to an unspecified date in June.

This has sparked outrage among fans, many of whom are accusing the company of intentionally sabotaging SEVENTEEN’s second- and third-day sales figures. Critics are questioning why the pre-orders were accepted at all in the first place if production couldn’t meet demand, with several expressing concern that this could unfairly impact the group’s chart performance.

Fans have taken to X to voice their frustration, using hashtags and threads to document their grievances and demand accountability from HYBE. Expressing their frustration, one fan tweeted,

"This is blatant sabotage cause how the f*ck a group that sells 6m copies of one album and sells 8-10M albums total every year is still facing issue like insufficient stock. Like how conveniently they are sending this email after the one week sales lol. Who is hybe kidding they really think we are stupid and don’t see what’s up lol."

A fan criticizing HYBE for the delay in dispatching SEVENTEEN's new album (Image via X/@horanghaeBK)

Fans continued to criticize HYBE for the delay.

"Hybe remains unchanged, WHY DO YOU HAVE PREORDERS ACTIVATED IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH ALBUMS?!" a fan expressed.

"Somehow Hybe always gets surprised on Seventeen's album demand & mistakenly understocks albums despite doing pre-order and historical data from past album sales & demand," a fan said.

"There’s no logical reason for this! Seventeen have a proven track record of sales yet the company refuses to meet the early demand," a fan stated.

Other fans made comments like:

"Will you also report about Hybe being caught sabotaging SVT by understocking the albums everywhere and refusing further orders? And delaying the shipment of the albums with many Carats receiving their albums much later than expected? This is affecting Billboard, too," a fan wrote.

"HYBE has a history of deliberately not distributing albums in the 2nd week of a comeback during ‘Sonogong’ promotions, to make sure other idols from different HYBE labels could win 1st place on music shows, resulting in a 0 score for album sales that week," a fan noted.

"SEVENTEEN deserves better!" a fan exclaimed.

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SEVENTEEN's HAPPY BURSTDAY had highest first-day sales in 2025 on Hanteo chart

HAPPY BURSTDAY is SEVENTEEN’s fifth full-length album, released in celebration of their 10th debut anniversary on May 26, 2025. The album features a diverse 16-track lineup and made an explosive impact on release day by recording the highest first-day sales on the Hanteo Chart in 2025, with 2,134,982 copies sold, surpassing RIIZE’s Odyssey.

It was also projected to debut at #5 on the Billboard 200, with 42,000 units estimated in U.S. sales. However, with shipment delays announced by HYBE, fans are now concerned that the album may miss its debut window, affecting not just chart performance but also the album’s momentum and visibility.

The longer the delay continues, the more likely it is that HAPPY BURSTDAY could lose its initial demand and streaming consistency, potentially sabotaging its overall success.

Fans have expressed frustration, especially since this isn’t the first time SEVENTEEN has faced such issues with album shipments. In response, they are calling for fairer treatment and encouraging each other to intensify streaming efforts to support the group during this period.