When I go to Staples for paper, I practically have to look through everything they carry, compare the specs and pricing all over again, and hope I get something close enough to what I've liked before. It's a moving target. I stay away from the obviously expensive ripoffs, but I don't want the cheapest crap either. I see I'm using a ream of their store brand paper now, but not too long ago there was a Xerox branded one that made sense.
And don't even get me started on the difference between what the big box office supply stores offer now (in any category), versus the good stationery stores of the past. It's sad.