It might have taken a while to sell out time wise due to some staggered release times, etc, but for the most part stores sold out the day they released them, usually very quickly. The black was so limited that people jumped on what they could for sure. From what I remember ( I could be wrong), the vast majority of shops stuck to the date.
For your second question, I honestly don't remember. My locals always do box. I'm sure it was just like any release. Some upcharged, some didn't.
More than anything about that release, I remember a lot of people having trouble with getting their package in from Concepts. Like it would come but be in a different box. Or be missing the coozie. Or the ornament was broken. Or they got one lacelock and not the other. I think some people got it corrected when they contacted customer service at Concepts, but it was def a "theme" of the thread during the release.