Service Merchandise

[DodgerGirl]

Does anyone remember shopping at Service Merchandise? They were a store similar to Best and sold everything from electronics toys camping gear sporting goods and anything else you could name and you selected an item looked it up in their special computer service named Silent Sam "Kind of sounds like a name for a Marvel superhero" and then you got to pick up your item and they also had catalogues too where you could do the same thing. Mom and I used to LOVE Service Merchandise because it was an awesome store and when I was a kid most of my dolls came from Service Merchandise and my family also bought our first Sega Genesis there too and camping gear for our vacations. Why Service Merchandise went broke I cannot figure out because the format of the stores was so neat and they were also famous for their jewelry too

 

[rangerxenos]

Does anyone remember shopping at Service Merchandise? They were a store similar to Best and sold everything from electronics toys camping gear sporting goods and anything else you could name and you selected an item looked it up in their special computer service named Silent Sam "Kind of sounds like a name for a Marvel superhero" and then you got to pick up your item and they also had catalogues too where you could do the same thing. Mom and I used to LOVE Service Merchandise because it was an awesome store and when I was a kid most of my dolls came from Service Merchandise and my family also bought our first Sega Genesis there too and camping gear for our vacations. Why Service Merchandise went broke I cannot figure out because the format of the stores was so neat and they were also famous for their jewelry too

 

[dizneegirl]

Pretty sure that's where our wedding bands came from.

 

[slo]

One of my bridal registries was at Service Merchandise. Another one was at Marshal Fields which is also a store of the past.

My greatest Service Merchandise memories……
The store was set up that when you walked in, you were where all the crystal and breakable things were displayed. Every time my grandma and I would get to the door she would say, “Hands in your pockets” because she wanted me touching nothing (this was when I was a kid)

I chuckle at this memory. When my girls were little and we were somewhere that had breakable things I would tell them the say thing - LOL!

 

[leebee]

Service Merchandise was "big" in my area in the 70s and 80s. I remember going there with my roommate when he went to pick up the engagement ring he was giving his girlfriend (also a roomie and good friend) later that week. I saw the ring before she did! That was the hardest secret to keep!

 

[lynxstch]

Pretty sure that's where our wedding bands came from.

That's where our wedding bands came from also, at least the first set of them.

 

[kdonnel]

Seems like it might not be long before a store similar opens.

One where there is one of everything sold on the shelf so you can touch it or try it on and then you place your order and it gets delivered to your home in the next 2 days.

 

[GGOOFY1]

My sister used to work in their jewelry department! I think all our wedding bands came from there!

 

[Dug720]

I don't remember a computer, but I know my Christmas List always came from their catalog!

 

[barkley]

I remember it. there was one a couple towns away from us. closer to us but of an almost identical model was 'consumer distributing'. they had catelogs twice a year (some seasonal) you selected from.

 

[Simba's Mom]

My sister used to work in their jewelry department! I think all our wedding bands came from there!

Not mine-it came from Prime Value Mart. That was a Service Merchandise wanna-be store. It was the exact same format, but the store was a little less fancy, dimmer lighting, wooden floors (I think). I don't know how many Prime Value Mart stores there were, but I think Service Merchandise was all over the country-and we shopped there a lot. As I remember, at least where we shopped, there was just one display of the item, you took a paper tag over to the counter, paid, then waited for your item to come down on the moving belt from upstairs.

 

[AppleDumpling]

I worked at Service Merchandise as a college student in the early 80’s. Fun place to work.

As pp posted, their direct competitor in this area was another catalog showroom with the same setup, called Consumers Distributing (CD). CD was a few miles down the road from the SM where I worked, and people would often come in with order forms already filled out, with item numbers from CD. We had to tell them they were in the wrong store, LOL.

The item I remember most at that time was the Cabbage Patch doll, during the peak of its popularity. We could never keep enough in stock to meet the demand. As mentioned, you had to order at the desk or self-serve computer, and then claim your merch at the pick-up area on your way out. With the CP dolls, they would limit one per customer and you got a random doll picked by the order filler. But people didn’t like that they couldn’t choose the specific doll they wanted (girl/boy, name, hair color, clothes, etc.) I’ll never forget, being there on Christmas Eve, when the manager decided to just stack them out on the floor and let people fight over them. A crazy scene, but those who scored the most coveted toy of the year were happy!

My greatest Service Merchandise memories……
The store was set up that when you walked in, you were where all the crystal and breakable things were displayed. Every time my grandma and I would get to the door she would say, “Hands in your pockets” because she wanted me touching nothing (this was when I was a kid)

This reminds me of another trendy item of that era, rain lamps. The kind with a statue in the middle and oil dripping down strings around the sides. They had one on display in the housewares section, and kids (and adults) would constantly be sticking their fingers in the stream of oil. They had to put it behind a barrier so no one could get close enough to touch it.

 

[barkley]

there was an independantly owned store of this model in my hometown. it was very popular for engaged couple to register at for their weddings (very heavy on practicle household goods but a nice selection of 'fancy' but non china dishware). I knew they had closed shop a few decades ago. what I did'nt know until I Google searched the name to see when they closed is they took the model and successfully tweeked it into a business that for a few decades has marketed to inmates/families. same catelog set up but it's all pre-approved products that are permitted in prisons in California (found some articles that indicate they are the 'go-to' and industry model. over the course of close to 7 decades they have transitioned with the times from brick and mortar traditional store to a catelog store to a paper catelog mail order to a hybrid paper catelog/online catelog mail and online order business. still privately family owned. impressive.

 

[barkley]

This reminds me of another trendy item of that era, rain lamps. The kind with a statue in the middle and oil dripping down strings around the sides. They had one on display in the housewares section, and kids (and adults) would constantly be sticking their fingers in the stream of oil. They had to put it behind a barrier so no one could get close enough to touch it.

I remember those! several of my mom's friends had them and I remember it was a major production if a room it was located in needed the ceiling repainted cuz you did'nt want to spill oil on that luxurious shag carpeting (or on hardwoods for that matter). I think the reason we don't see many of them in second hand stores along with all the other 'fab' decor of that era is b/c allot of them had an issue with the oil going rancid-and once it did there was no way to empty and clean it out enough to rid it of that smell.

 

[Imzadi]

there was an independantly owned store of this model in my hometown. it was very popular for engaged couple to register at for their weddings (very heavy on practicle household goods

We had an an independently owned store too. Different name but same catalog & showroom setup. I loved the jewelry from there. But, I was too young for most of it. I was looking for a very specific sterling silver bracelet on Poshmark a while back. Hoping someone had listed it. Hadn't found it. Maybe I'll look under the Service Merchandise name brand.

 

[Giraffe_Zen]

My mom used to shop there all the time. I remember their catalogs lol!

 

[jl]

Our Service Merchandise store was previously called Brand Names - same merchandise

 

[fly girl]

I remember Service Merchandise. I still have the small food chopper and magnifying mirror I bought from there in 1998! I did have 2 foldable futons I bought in 1990 too, but I loaned them to my sister in law and she ruined them.

For Michiganders, you may remember the local catalog showroom Witmark! I definitely remember going there during Christmastime when I was a young kid. Very fond memories.