I buy and ride the most OFSC trails in my home clubs District.
When I'm up in Northbay or Cochrane I ride as much(if not more) off trail as I doo on OFSC trails.

Speaking as some one who has some permit retail experience, I would say the large majority of sales are local people buying from their nearest retailer or local Club mostly as a convenience and to support their local Club...in my part of the world that how it seems to work any how but, for people who have cottages or favorite winter destinations who may not live near a Club or have retailers handy ( i.e. Toronto people) I can see where online ordering and mail orders to Clubs in their favorite area might be more common.

I volunteered last fall to spend a day in the OFSC booth in Toronto at the Show selling permits, it was a very enlightening experience on the permit buying mentality. I found most ( 80%) of the people new exactly what Club they wanted their money to go to no matter where they were from or the Club was located. The majority of the others wanted to support all Clubs in a certain area as they ride many miles on a lot of different Clubs trails ( i.e. a sale for the District). The remaining people hadn't a clue and /or didn't care where the permit money went to as long as they had the sticker. Like I have said before I found the sales at the show to be very fair with no helpful perswasion from the seller/helper to buy from a Club they might be a member of.

For all of you that hold out and buy the permit after the Dec. 1 deadline, that extra revenue( $50 here in ontario this year ) goes directly to the selling Club so in fact you are doing them a favor and providing them with some extra revenue, but it does make it hard for them to buget and get going with start up expenses.

As for where I purchase my permit from ? I usually take one or two major trips a year and try to pick out a Club where I rode that seemed to be doing an outstanding job and yet is a small Club that could use some extra revenue, this requires a bit of time and thought when it comes to permit buying day. I did purchase my permits last year from my home Club but I am afraid this year they will be purchased from somewhere else !