While at one of the AZGFD offices a couple of weeks ago to get our tags, the AZGFD gentleman behind the counter was explaining to another customer that AZGFD has been having issues for years with retail vendors submitting tag sales reports in the required timeframe (not hard to believe). Said AZGFD has decided to put their foot down and not issue these retailers 2022 tags until they get their acts together. I suspects this is a big part of the problem.
Seems to make sense that the retailers known for their lack of competency would be having these issues and wouldn’t be a good choice for trying to get tags. If you can’t get to an AZGFD office, I would try a hunting specific retailer, Sportsman’s, Bass Pro, or better yet, some of the small independent guys who might sell tags.