10-Ream 500-Sheet Hammermill Copy Plus Printer Paper (8.5" x 11") Expired

Nobody can bring up a paper deal without someone reminiscing about the "Good Old Days" . I'll be that guy:
"Oh man, remember when Staples was paying US to take their cases of paper? I made a whole fort out of cases of paper from Staples! Dang, I wish I'd bought more of it when I had a chance."
With that out of the way:
When the Staples loss-leaders disappeared and I finally used up all the reams I'd stockpiled, I needed to find the next best option. My local (Seattle) Costco sells "Natural Choice" multi-purpose paper for $39.99 every day (it has been creeping up...I think it was $27.99 when the Staples deals ended). I understand that "multi-purpose paper" can have widely varying quality. This "Natural Choice" paper doesn't mention its brightness anywhere on the package or the website. It does say that it's 20 lb paper, that it's 99.99% jam-free, that it's high opacity, and that it's made in-state (Longview, WA) using a process that gets twice as much paper from each tree, uses 47% less water, no chlorine, etc, etc.
If I can grab this any day from Costco (or even have it delivered), is there some reason for me to reach for the Hammermill deal instead? I know that name-brand laundry detergent and motor oil and dish soap and other products are often worth the higher price because they work better than no-name products, so is there something (other than the $1 price difference) that should encourage me to get the Hammermill? I do remember that Staples would run deals on "copy paper" and "multi-purpose paper" in both "Staples" brand and Hammermill, and I remember that some of the paper was brighter or seemed higher-quality.
For my use (printing out two-sided homework packets on a laser printer), the Natural Choice paper actually seems pretty decent. I haven't had any issues with jamming and it's plenty opaque. One minor oddity is that the apparent brightness of the sheets can vary a bit within the ream). Is the Hammermill more "premium" than the Natural Choice paper?

Nobody can bring up a paper deal without someone reminiscing about the "Good Old Days" . I'll be that guy:
"Oh man, remember when Staples was paying US to take their cases of paper? I made a whole fort out of cases of paper from Staples! Dang, I wish I'd bought more of it when I had a chance."
With that out of the way:
When the Staples loss-leaders disappeared and I finally used up all the reams I'd stockpiled, I needed to find the next best option. My local (Seattle) Costco sells "Natural Choice" multi-purpose paper for $39.99 every day (it has been creeping up...I think it was $27.99 when the Staples deals ended). I understand that "multi-purpose paper" can have widely varying quality. This "Natural Choice" paper doesn't mention its brightness anywhere on the package or the website. It does say that it's 20 lb paper, that it's 99.99% jam-free, that it's high opacity, and that it's made in-state (Longview, WA) using a process that gets twice as much paper from each tree, uses 47% less water, no chlorine, etc, etc.
If I can grab this any day from Costco (or even have it delivered), is there some reason for me to reach for the Hammermill deal instead? I know that name-brand laundry detergent and motor oil and dish soap and other products are often worth the higher price because they work better than no-name products, so is there something (other than the $1 price difference) that should encourage me to get the Hammermill? I do remember that Staples would run deals on "copy paper" and "multi-purpose paper" in both "Staples" brand and Hammermill, and I remember that some of the paper was brighter or seemed higher-quality.
For my use (printing out two-sided homework packets on a laser printer), the Natural Choice paper actually seems pretty decent. I haven't had any issues with jamming and it's plenty opaque. One minor oddity is that the apparent brightness of the sheets can vary a bit within the ream). Is the Hammermill more "premium" than the Natural Choice paper?

Remember how these used to be FAR like a decade ago?

I still have four cases sitting against my wall, I think I go through a ream a year.

Yeah yeah I know I'm old. Now get off my lawn

Anyone know if there is much of a difference between Hammermill copy paper and Tru Red brand? The Tru Red is showing $33.59 for the same amount of paper (10 reams) because I still have the offer in my account for 40% off on my first AutoRestock order.

https://www.staples.com/tru-red-8...uct_135848