On the con side, Amazon.com was definitely overvalued on the stock market. And they expanded into other areas too recklessly. Everybody knows them for books and music. When they started selling garden rakes and other gardening tools, what the hell were they thinking? I go to Home Depot for that stuff. Who's going to pay to have a step ladder shipped to their house?
If Amazon.com is unable to turn a profit, look for them to get snapped up somebody like Wal-Mart. They are definitely not going away however.
As for Service Merchandise, it never did have that "status symbol" name brand that is so important for jewelry. If you buy your girlfriend an engagement ring or watch there, you certainly aren't going to tell her where you bought it from. Might as well tell her you got it from a gumball machine at the penny arcade. It just has no "class appeal." As for electronics and consumer appliances, Circuit City and Wal-Mart destroyed them. I'm sure that's why those sections started disappearing.