Rodney,
I guess STAPLES must sell different ones at different stores. The ones I got are so good that I use them a couple of times each. That is, when I'm flying the trainer. I wrap them in a paper towel after the flight. Whenever I take them out of a paper towel, I know to put them into the trashbag after that flight, eventhough they look no different from new.

They're so good that a couple of guys at the field have made special trips to pick some up. You'll get a laugh out of this..... they made the trip because the ones they got at the LHS were so lousy!!!

It's actually a very iffy deal with rubber bands. You usually can't tell how they'll work until you use them. Some are sorta whitish and others look like gum rubber. And neither type is a guaranteed buy. I've had both work good and both have come out of new bags and popped when stretched or gave up when stretched. No way to predict. I guess the mfg's simply package whatever came out of the machines without testing.