The systematic use of reinforcers is an essential component of behavioral intervention for individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Today, the use of rigorous formal preference assessments, including paired-preference assessments, are widely conducted to help determine which items to use as reinforcers during intervention. Although paired-preference assessments are widely used there is no experimental evidence whether extensive advance sampling actually produces higher rates of responding compared to in-the-moment analysis of reinforcer effects. The present study compared the rate of responding on a simple sorting task when participants were provided items that were determined as preferred via an extensive paired preference assessment to a teacher selecting items without the use of a paired preference assessment, but rather with an in-the-moment analysis of reinforcer effects. The results indicated no clear difference in the rate of responding, but there were clear differences in terms of efficiency. Clinical implications will be discussed.