Re: wine passport. It is our local thing - we are in WA country, and this is a pass book for a free tasting at 30+ participating wineries. It is a GREAT deal.
Costco is known to carry local stuff and promote local businesses. We bought cowboy hats made in MT in Bozeman and HI honey in Oahu. 
@BunsenBurner I bought poutine at Costco in Montreal.
Also, re: samples - ours has them every day of the week. May be less stations very early or late, but usually some. Ours opened at 9:30am today - I was outside buying a Christmas tree at 9:30 and in the store shopping before 10am and samples at that time included several cheeses, organic cherry juice, cookies, coffee, and a couple others.
Also fresh flowers and PLANTS. In the spring they will have giant ferns, geraniums, bushes, rose bushes, etc. at really great prices. Also bags of miracle gro soil, weed control,etc.
@TomSrOfBoston - Nanaimo bars at Vancouver Costco. Cactus and local tequila in Cancun. Kona coffee and Kamuela grown produce in HI. Skipped local stuff in MA because we were college-shopping.
Christmas wreaths
Contact lenses/glasses/non-prescription sunglasses for DH and me
Personal and business checks - the 3rd party that prints them is Harland (same as where my bank has them printed). I just ordered some for my DH’s personal account and they were 1/3 of what his bank charges
Car buying service (10 years ago)
Rental cars (always cheapest deals I can find)
Printer ink
Fruit (we eat a lot)
Salmon with Milano butter (in the refrigerated department)
Floral arrangements I used as centerpieces for my dining room table for a couple of parties. A bargain at $19.99 each and lasted for a week.
Gift cards to a local deli that are sold for under face value ($79.99 for a $100 gift card).
Also, rolls of 100 first class stamps are sold for $49.75 – so you save $.25!
If you can’t get to the Costco warehouse very often, you can still shop online at the web store. There is a much greater selection of vacuum cleaners and mattresses that way, and huge items like hot tubs and greenhouses. They also do floral delivery. If you want to return something, you can always return it to the Costco warehouse.
They have great prices on wine and spirits and their own Kirkland brand is good for these and other products.
If you print photos, you can load up a whole order online and pick it up or have it shipped to you. It’s a very easy site to use.
Car rental is great! I usually compare prices between Southwest, Costco and USAA. Costco is usually the best deal, followed by Southwest. I haven’t rented through USAA for a few years, but I still check their rates.
I haven’t used Costco for buying a car or any large appliances or for insurance, but I sure wish I lived in one of the state where they offered insurance!
I have bought custom blinds through Costco online, from Bali, and that went very well.
They have different displays and vendors in the warehouse at different times. Vitamix comes and does demos and offers sales, and Aidell’s sausage. Maybe you could find out what the schedule is since the store isn’t close to you. You may want to come for some events but not others.
I like tasting the samples, but wouldn’t schedule a trip around them! Those people are not Costco employees and don’t have the great salary and benefits that Costco employees get. They do get a commission, so if you like their product, please buy it while they are demo-ing so they get extra money.
Their “coupons” are always clip-free so you don’t need to have them with you to get the discount. Maybe this varies by state?
I didn’t know that about the sample staff - that they get commission - really?
We have one sample guy who is SO obnoxious…very loud, tries to drown out other sample vendors (that is apparently suppose to be hilarious) and tries to call out shoppers to stop at his station (hey, free samples for pretty ladies wearing green today!) - he could be giving away $10 bills and I wouldn’t stop at his station!
Ours stopped needing clipped coupons years ago.
@greenwitch About 10 years ago they had signs up looking to hire samplers. They were paying $13/hour even then.
Movie tickets for Regal.
Dog foods
I love Costco also because they treat their employees RIGHT! (In addition to all the great deals, rebates and free samples of course). Their employees are paid better, with great benefits, so they have very high retention rate, just happier people. I think only Trader Joe’s could beat them in that front.
@abasket
Lol. At our Costco, there is no need to call out people to sample, often there are lines waiting for the samples to come out! And once they are out, they are gone in a instant! I used to have a colleague who would bring his whole family to Costco Sunday after church, and no lunch is needed afterwards. :))
@TomSrOfBoston - I don’t know about 10 years ago, but they are outsourced to a different employer now.
Oh there are plenty people wanting samples - he just is obnoxious no matter what!
Costco Pet Peeve: the people who are so focussed on samples they are oblivious to anything else going on - like people trying to get through the aisles and shop! They clog up the aisles and linger around the sample stations - let’s move on people!
@greenwitch They were outsourced back then too.
This is probably regional, but they sell a brand of chicken that is packed in separatable pouches. Six pouches attached together so you get a good price (2-3 breasts/pkg or 5-6 thighs per pouch). You can separate before freezing. So I get some of the benefit of buying in bulk without having to repackage in usable amounts.
I got some decent inexpensive touchscreen gloves a few weeks ago, too.
Tomorrow will be nuts… go right when they open.
We regularly purchase:
Coffee beans — sadly they no longer roast in store but still good
Butter— keep in freezer
Meat
Allertec — generic for Zyrtec at a fraction of the cost
Toilet paper
Napkins
Kleenex
Garbage bags
Nuts
Olive oil
Canola oil
Spices
Better than Boullion
Maple Syrup
Dog treats
Books — always deeply discounted off the cover price
Socks/underwear
Laundry soap
Dish soap
Dishwasher soap
Cakes from the bakery for birthdays, etc. they are popular at work and only $16 for a full sheet
Gas
Wow, I didn’t realize how much we relied on Costco
I was at the the Richmond BC Costco recently and was pleasantly surprised that the hotdog there was also $1.50 Canadian Dollars, so around $1.15 US. Just an FYI.
Boy, is that the truth! I bought a giant roll of Christmas wrapping paper about 4 years ago and I STILL have at least half of it left. At least it’s reversible (printed with a different pattern on the other side) so there’s a little bit of variation on the packages under the tree. I know my family is getting sick of it! >:P
In addition to everything already mentioned, furniture! It was a big leap of faith when I ordered a bedroom set online but we were extremely happy with the quality and the price. Free shipping and many items have white glove service meaning they deliver and set up for you in your house. Since that first purchase, we have ordered a dining room sst, patio furniture, another bedroom set for my daughter and a sofa. If your store sells furniture in the store, it will be even cheaper than the prices online but you will have to transport yourself. If you are not happy with the furniture, they will even come to your house to take it back if you ordered online.
Restaurant gift cards. We buy Bonefish Grill – $100 in cards for $80.