I always play "touchy feely" with my fabric before I buy it. I'll even lay it down, unroll it and "play" with it.
I NEVER rely on what the sticker says on the end of the bolt. I was buying some fabric at a quilt shop one time. Read the sticker, it said 100% cotton, only to get it home and the fabric was crap. Didn't realize it at the time because I didn't really play with the fabric. Brought the stuff back to the shop and the lady told me that they sold NOTHING but 100% cotton. When I went to the shelf and pulled the bolt off, the lady felt the fabric...same as what I was showing her and she says....well, that's NOT ours, someone must have snuck that bolt in there on the shelf!!!