Thunder's original release date was Nov 17th, then it got pushed back when JB actually put more shoes into production. Luckily there are some members on here with actual Nike corporate employees in their network, so that is where some of this info comes from. Nike actually stopped production on some shoes to dedicate more resources to the additional Thunders being produced late.
It's not totally a theory this time, kamuekcmo just did what some can't and let NT in on some legit information. That Raptor release was not overseas pairs or any kind of left over pairs, they sent left over pairs of the 9-1-12 release allotment to outlets 4-5 weeks before that actual, date announced re-release on Nov 24th. These were actually the first pair JB put this new plan into play with. The only issue was that they allotted too many pairs to the original release and over estimated the popularity of this colorway. And leftovers went to outlets quick, because believe it or not, there is a HUGE number of actual sneaker people that don't know about retro's popping up at outlets, much less the average consumer. So people that just shop at NDC/FNL/FTL, etc... online or in store just thought "dang it, I missed out and this retro is gone now too." Then the actual re release comes and sells out in a day on Nov 24th. 99.9% of the things JB and Nike do are not are not done to attract/retain us dedicated consumers they already have on lock. Even guys I know that get every release by camping to guarantee they get a pair, have only 5% of the knowledge about these shoes and where/how to get them as an NT member that has been here for a month. LOL this spring people will be coming in here saying, "DAMN kamuekcmo, REPPED!!"
Also, congrats on the recent Charcoal pick up Magic, surprised me how much I like mine!