Idaho Fish & Game In-person Tag Sales Strategy

[sasquatch]

I think Oregon has it right on party apps- no limit on number of members, but they do not break up the party or add additional tags. If there aren't enough tags available at the time the app number comes up, the entire application is unsuccessful and it's on to the next app in line until the issued tag number is met. Idaho caps it at 4 members, but they will add tags to fill an app if necessary.

If they limit it to 4, your not talking about much tag addition. At max it’s 3 more tags than the set quota. I don’t think that is worth changing it up.

Now, when there’s no limit to the members, yes it then makes sense to set it up like that. If not, you could essentially rig the system, every single person just apply as one group, then everyone would get tags.


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[Beendare]

Good question. I’ll ask IDGF when they get here in the morning, I’m already camping in the back of the Boise office, they just don’t know it yet.

Ha!
You are going to have a lot more guys to hang out with next year as this strategy has now gone very public.

The guys chiming in saying no line…guess what…there was not much of a line at the outfit I went to last year…this year there were 24 guys. By my informal head count, 27 of the 77 people on my plane were flying in to buy tags- I talked to 10 of them.

Thats what happens when this gets blabbed all over the internet. Look at Wapiti Bobs post where most tags were sold by computer…..as IDFG’s computer system gets faster the tags are going lightning fast…….its already getting to where guys in person didnt get the tag they wanted as they sell out so fast- myself included and I was first in line!

 

[LFC911]

Ha!
You are going to have a lot more guys to hang out with next year as this strategy has now gone very public.

The guys chiming in saying no line…guess what…there was not much of a line at the outfit I went to last year…this year there were 24 guys. By my informal head count, 27 of the 77 people on my plane were flying in to buy tags- I talked to 10 of them.

Thats what happens when this gets blabbed all over the internet. Look at Wapiti Bobs post where most tags were sold by computer…..as IDFG’s computer system gets faster the tags are going lightning fast…….its already getting to where guys in person didnt get the tag they wanted as they sell out so fast- myself included and I was first in line!

I will be booking my flights as soon as i know the sale date in 2024...that's if nothing changes.

 

[Adventurous Alex]

It needs to just go to a draw like Montana does it. It's basically already a draw at this point but at least with a draw you can put in as a group and either everyone in your camp gets one or no one does, which I'm assuming most would want. And you don't need to waste hours of the work day waiting in an imaginary internet line that might end up kicking you out when your turn finally arrives 4 hours later...

I am totally for this. At this point, it is luck of the draw anyways, it is just the number you draw in the virtual waiting room. Just make it all go limited quota. I had friends that showed up in person, were the first in line, and still did not get the tags they were after.

 

[Wrench]

Idaho would do better for itself to just make it in person sales. It generates jobs and income.

 

[CorbLand]

I need to buy an AirBnB close to a vendor. Offer discounts for groups coming to buy tags.

or a heated shop with cots. Go the hostel route.

 

[ez_willie]

I am totally for this. At this point, it is luck of the draw anyways, it is just the number you draw in the virtual waiting room. Just make it all go limited quota. I had friends that showed up in person, were the first in line, and still did not get the tags they were after.

We’re they after the only 4 pioneer tags or was the vendor sitting there printing tags for friends and family and outfitters?

 

[Wrench]

I need to buy an AirBnB close to a vendor. Offer discounts for groups coming to buy tags.

or a heated shop with cots. Go the hostel route.

I'm leasing 56 tag printers for next year. Slight upcharge
....but we have better service.

 

[Fatcamp]

I need to buy an AirBnB close to a vendor. Offer discounts for groups coming to buy tags.

or a heated shop with cots. Go the hostel route.

I would like to subscribe to your news letter.

 

[Z Barebow]

I need to buy an AirBnB close to a vendor. Offer discounts for groups coming to buy tags.

or a heated shop with cots. Go the hostel route.

Million dollar idea. Become an Air Bnb/license vendor. One stop shopping. Also bring in food trucks. Depending upon what they serve, you might need to rent a porta potty or 2.

Take it easy the remainder of the year.

 

[sneaky]

So by that logic, if I move to idaho, become a resident next year and then open up an outfitter business, I should expect that I can then just get more tags for clients?......I still don't see the logic that just because they've chosen that as a profession, that the government is responsible for helping them attain/retain clients

First you would have to buy guiding rights to an area. Good luck with that.

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[sneaky]

Sorry, but this is unequivocally false. A complete random draw, sans ponzi point schemes, would be a far more equitable and fair way to distribute tags than a system that relies on a server not crashing and people being able to purchase mulitiple NR tags at a time.

And you would have 50x as many people in the pool trying to get a tag. Apparently math isn't your strong suit. The math isn't mathing on it being more equitable. It all boils down to " screw my kids and their kids, I want the system changed so I can get the elk tag I want"

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[sneaky]

You're going to need to qualify this statement.

200 tags available for a unit, hypothetically. 450 license vendors, and online sales. If your vendor has slow internet, you have no chance. It's pretty simple.

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[sasquatch]

Half these issues would go away if you had to log in FIRST, to then enter the waiting room

Sooooooo many people trying to get on under multiple computers


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[87TT]

 

[Jason Snyder]

And you would have 50x as many people in the pool trying to get a tag. Apparently math isn't your strong suit. The math isn't mathing on it being more equitable. It all boils down to " screw my kids and their kids, I want the system changed so I can get the elk tag I want"

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1. I wasn’t referencing math, equity has nothing to do with what you stated.
2. Math is not my strong suit.
3. You are clearly smarter than me.
4. I’m not trying to screw any kids over.
5. I’ll eventually buy an elk tag when one gets returned after all of the other idiotic BS
6. If all else fails reference #3.

 

[Beendare]

Thanks to this thread, I’ve had a few guys offer to pay me to buy their tags….and the residents behind me bought tags for friends last year.

Face Palm…next year is going to be a real shit show in person. I need a new strategy

 

[Raghornkiller]

We were gonna go last year but coming from Indiana we eventually decided our time and money was worth more than the tags we would probably get.We might do it this year though as I'd like to do at least one more Idaho hunt before it's all draw.I miss the days of buying two tags in august and barely hunting one because we had so many other hunts.

 

[jjbloomer]

With the threads (and experiences) regarding the recent Idaho nonresident tag sale fresh in people's minds, I'd like to start a discussion regarding an effort in which I have been engaged with the Idaho Fish and Game Commission since last fall. Sorry if this is going to be a long post, but I hope to garner support from Idaho resident and nonresident hunters alike in my effort to convince the Idaho Department of Fish and Game that it needs to eliminate its fundamentally unfair practice of allowing one individual to purchase tags for other individuals who are not physically present at the point of sale. This is not an effort to prevent proxy purchases, which I contend are totally legitimate and should continue to be allowed. Heck, my wife has stood in line for me and purchased tags in the past when I've been out of town. My proposal is that the Department allow the sale of one tag (of however many species desired) for one person physically present and this should be the Department's in-person tag sales practice going forward. This is also not an effort to address the significant (think 2022) issues the Department has had with its contractor who handles its online sales. Rather, mine is an effort to eliminate tag purchase abuses at points of sale that are (primarily) administered by the Department in its physical offices. I know this suggestion won't sit well with the folks who have been making money by acting as brokers to purchase 20 tags for others who are "too busy" to stand in line or live in locations they can't make it to Idaho for the tag sales event or those who think they are exercising social responsibility to "get theirs" and let our fellow hunters standing in line for hours (or days) behind them go to hell because the Department allows people to buy multiple tags for hunters who aren't present and have no skin in the game. I contend that both of these practices are fundamentally unfair. If you haven't had the pleasurable experience of literally standing in line for days for a tag sale, it is a sacrifice.

On that happy (and potentially contentious) note, here we go. Tag demand for all of Idaho's big game species has been growing substantially since 2018 (according to Department Public Information Specialist Roger Phillips) and it is unlikely this trend will diminish. I've been playing this stand-in-line game for tags off and on for ten or so years. One year, I went to a merchant that was in possession of one of the terminals connected to the Department's database for license and tag sales. I waited for a few hours and was the first person in line. Just prior to 10 AM, the owner of the business came in and took over the operation of the terminal from the clerk I had been chatting with while waiting. When he (the owner) started securing tags from a list of people he had written on a piece of paper in his hand, I asked him what was happening. This man let me know in no uncertain terms that I was first in line after he secured tags for the people on his list. And, if I didn't like it, I could leave. I assumed that he was purchasing tags for friends or relatives, but it was more than mildly frustrating to stand there while that occurred. Another time, I went to a different merchant and was third or fourth in line and something similar occurred. In this instance, the person operating the terminal told the first guy in line that he had failed to "get on the list" with his $100 donation to the business for this early tag sales service. These sort of shenanigans won't likely be eliminated by my proposal, but I hope people smarter than me can figure out mechanisms to narrow these abuses as well in the planned changes to the Department's online sales system that are underway. This new system should theoretically account for outfitters who have legitimate reasons for the purchase of third party tags for business purposes.

Think of it this way: the first five guys in line at a Department facility with ten names each can virtually eliminate any potential for the multitude of people standing behind them in line to have the opportunity to purchase high demand tags (think Sawtooth Zone elk) by tying up all of the Department's available computer terminals before the tags sell out. I'll say right up front that the Department's license sales representatives make a tremendous effort to service everyone as quickly as they can and they do an exceptional job. But, they can't work miracles and magically increase the number of tags for sale.

Here's what I hope folks consider: if you believe my effort to eliminate the Department's practice of selling tags to one person for third parties who are not present at the point of sale is a valid one, get involved! Communicate your sentiments with the appointees on the Idaho Fish and Game Commission relative to this issue. I've been doing so (via email) since September and I traveled to Lewiston from Boise last month to have the opportunity to speak at the public meeting that occurred the night before the Commission's quarterly scheduled meeting. I had the opportunity to speak to a few of the Commissioners after the meeting and through those contacts, I was able to determine that my position was an issue that the Commission had discussed in the past with the Department and its Director. The next Idaho Fish and Game Commission meeting is scheduled for January 26, 2024, in Boise and the public meeting where people will have an opportunity to communicate with the Commission will occur the previous day at 7 PM at the Department's Headquarters Office at 600 South Walnut Street. There is a three-minute time limit for public presentations, but written statements can be submitted to the Commissioner prior to the public meetings for presentation at that forum.

If you believe in this effort, please don't be apathetic. Send an email to the Commissioners to express your thoughts.

Below are the names of the Commissioners and their email addresses if you'd like to communicate with them on this (or any other) subject pertaining to Idaho's fish and game:

Chairman - Don Ebert, Weippe, Idaho (Clearwater Region) - [email protected]
Vice-Chairman - Ron Davies, Clayton, Idaho (Salmon Region) - [email protected]
Commissioner - Dave Bobbitt, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho (Panhandle Region) - [email protected]
Commissioner - Tim Murphy, McCall, Idaho (Southwest Region) - [email protected]
Commissioner - Greg Cameron, Rupert, Idaho (Magic Valley Region) - [email protected]
Commissioner - Jordan Cheirrett, Lava Hot Spring, Idaho (Southeast Region) - [email protected]
Commissioner - Derick Attebury, Idaho Falls, Idaho (Upper Snake Region) - [email protected]

Copies of communications can also be sent to Idaho Department of Fish and Game Director Jim Fredricks at [email protected].

Also shocks me that online you don't need to first log in to get in line for tags... so can have 50 computers open to increase your odds. Should have to log in first to give every person equal chance.

 

[7mm-08]

Also shocks me that online you don't need to first log in to get in line for tags... so can have 50 computers open to increase your odds. Should have to log in first to give every person equal chance.

I have a friend who has about 25 employees. The morning online elk tag sales start, he walks into the bullpen with $250 in cash and EVERYONE get on the Fish & Game website at the appropriate time until somebody hits gold. He's hunted this same high-demand unit every year since online sales began. Just another go-around to an imperfect system.