There is a lot of variability in the fabrics on the market.
The soft feel you experience is called, in the industry, "the hand."
The higher quality fabrics that use better and more expensive finishing techniques will have a better "hand." Lower quality fabrics will generally feel stiffer, and often the finishing step is skipped to save money, leaving a less desirable hand and making the fabric harder to work with.
Also, the cheaper fabrics often are top-dyed with extra dyes to make them feel thicker and less transparent rather than using more expensive penetrating dyes, and this will make them feel stiffer. Look at the fabric, does it look like the dye is sitting on top, or does it look like it's a natural part of the fabric? The highest quality fabrics will look more natural, and will be silky soft.
The finishing is applied after the fabric is printed. 1st strikeoffs, often used as earliest manufacturers samples, and sometimes sold in lower-priced venues are often not finished.