Non res tags have went on sale December 1 for a long time. It came down to a few things IMO; one being full on pimping of western hunting by companies and people, hunt research services overreacting to the unit limits placed a few years ago creating a panic buy, and the ease of returning and exchanging tags for something else.There wasn't an issue until they enacted the Dec 1 sale date. Same thing happens in other states when they go to a sale deadline.
It’s crazy how many tags get turned back in and I suspect a lot of that is because people panic on Dec 1 and buy something they really shouldn’t have