There is very little doubt that Facebook (News - Alert) and other social networking sites are only growing in popularity these days. The question that has been plaguing retailers is how exactly do you take advantage of that fact? eBay (News - Alert) recently announced a new service through PayPal (News - Alert) that would work quite a bit like Facebook does with other social networking sites. 

While that service would allow people to pay quickly, it doesn't really answer the question as to how best to use social networking sites to get your product out there to the public. Of course, one way to get your product out there is to simply put it out there. Oscar de le Renta is using Facebook as a kind of specialized store front and even offering certain items as Facebook exclusives.

While fashion designers and companies have long used Facebook as a way to build popularity, de la Renta is leading the charge to convert those fans into paying customers. The company is currently billing a new kind of Perfume Ring as a Facebook exclusive item as a bit of a test drive to see whether Facebook can be a trustworthy point of sale site. 

The ring is designed to look like a cocktail sized flower that encases a solid concentration of a fragrance the company had recently sent out samples of. The sampling campaign that the company undertook was also largely handled on its Facebook page. By doing both the sampling and the actual sale of the ring through Facebook, it is a safe bet that de la Renta is trying to build a loyal customer base.

The company does still have some reservations about how successful this campaign will actually be, with those concerns based mostly in the price of the perfume ring.   The ring has a price tag (News - Alert) of $65 and there are some de la Renta executives who believe that price may be a bit high for those using the social networking site. 

Oscar de la Renta CEO Alex Bolen told the tech news site Mashable that he still had “some reservations” as to whether a $65 item could sell well on Facebook. Bolen expressed no doubts that more and more companies would start using Facebook as a sales venue but he wasn't sure how often his company would do so.