Okay so I am freaking out a little bit right now. I volunteered to print out all the handouts and schedule packets for a neighborhood charity event happening this Saturday morning, and I completely miscalculated how much paper we actually need. I thought one or two packs would be fine but my coordinator just told me we need at least 3,000 pages printed by Friday night. That is like 6 full reams of paper and I have zero clue where to get that much copy paper without spending a fortune.

Sorry if this is a super dumb question, I literally never buy office supplies in bulk. Usually I just buy one small pack at the grocery store once a year when I need to print a return label or something. But buying single reams at my local grocery store is gonna cost me like 8 or 9 bucks each and that is way over what I can afford to spend out of pocket for this.

I really need some recommendations on physical stores I can drive to right now or tomorrow morning (I live in the Austin area if that helps). I need to get this sorted ASAP. Here is basically what I am looking for:

• Budget: Trying to keep the total cost under $35-$40 for 6 to 8 reams if possible. Is that even realistic nowadays?
• Paper specs: Literally just standard 8.5 x 11 letter paper. I dont care about thickness or how bright white it is, as long as it wont constantly jam a basic home inkjet printer.
• Type of store: Must be a store with in-person pickup today or tomorrow, I cant wait for online shipping because of the timeline.
• Quantity: Need at least 5 or 6 reams (2500-3000 sheets minimum).

Do places like Walmart or Target have good bulk paper deals, or should I try an office store like Staples or Office Depot? What about warehouse stores like Costco or Sams Club, do you need a paid membership just to buy paper there? I am so lost with all the different brightness numbers and GSM stuff online. Where is the absolute cheapest place to just go in and grab a box of basic printer paper today?