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Sean Dunn of J.R. Dunn Jewelers, a two-store chain in Lighthouse Point and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he has seen limited success on his MySpace page, but that he and his staff launched the page with low expectations. “We really use it as another tool for brand awareness,” he says. “We focus it on fashion and don’t engage in direct selling tactics, which we were advised to stay away from by the young sales associates in our store.” While Dunn says he isn’t expecting to create sales off of the page, he adds that he has received some e-mails and started interesting conversations with people who come in and say they can’t believe he has a MySpace page. “We’re viewed as more hip and with it,” he says. “If someone has had serious sales success with MySpace, I’d like to hear about it.”

One retailer is happy to talk about his MySpace success: Gary Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, says he has sold $183,500 as a direct result of his presence on MySpace, a page he’s had on-line for the past year and a half. “I originally created it as a presence for the jewelry store, but I’m also formerly a musician so the page is really my shtick to mix pleasure with business—which breaks down barriers when I talk with customers.” Combining pictures of jewelry and the retail store against a backdrop of drum set images and a rock-and-roll soundtrack, Gordon has seven music-related and three jewelry-related blogs on his MySpace page, which he says has attracted entertainers who refer him to lawyers, bankers and others, as well as young people in their twenties and thirties shopping for engagement rings.

“The MySpace page is just an extension of the entire vibe of our corporate culture, which is to be a personality-driven retailer,” he explains. “I’m not just another person hustling on the Internet to try and sell something. The page turns me from a salesman into a real living, breathing person that people can relate to.”

Gordon estimates he spends about five hours a week updating his page and answering MySpace-related e-mails. “People who contact me from the MySpace page like the idea of a jeweler that they perceive as hip and who isn’t barking a sales pitch.” He says he has sold seven diamonds 2 carats or larger, 50 engagement ring diamonds at 1 carat or less, and over 20 earring stud sets often bought by male rappers or performers.

“It’s absolutely exceeded our expectations,” Gordon says. “I never thought in a million years that I would see so much success from MySpace. I’ve always been pretty good at marketing myself and have wanted to create pizzazz, and this might be my most creative accomplishment in doing that.”