Catalog sales were very popular in past decades. In fact, in each small community there was a woman—almost always a woman—dedicated to walking around the houses of neighbors and friends to offer their makeup catalogues, tupperware, household products, blankets, perfumes and other artifacts that, despite Although they were not always useful or of good quality, they enjoyed the prestige of the brand that offered them and allowed the seller to earn a small commission for each sale; yes, risking her own investment and social capital.
Catalog sales have not completely disappeared. It is a cliché of social networks that in each “Godínez” group – said of the formal office workers who populate urban villages – has its own catalog saleswoman who supplies the herd with junk to bring the recess food, makeup and even shoes. The activity is always a complement to the family economy, since the profits could hardly be considered a self-sufficient salary to support four people in a dignified manner; But they help make the expense more bearable with the ever-present risk of losing the investment if the client no longer wants it or never pays outright.
The advantages are, however, a short investment of time or that can be derived from the usual sociability of the sellers, and the profit does not pay taxes, at least direct sellers do not usually pay them. With the predominance of social networks, the figure of the catalog seller, although it has not disappeared, has been transformed into a similar model that seeks to complement the family economy through informal online sales, being the Facebook Marketplace and Instagram advertising the most popular in Mexico; although TikTok is also rapidly emerging as an advertising space.
From this activity the so-called nenis emerged, the majority, again, tend to be women who are dedicated to selling products through social networks and delivering them to midpoints or to the buyers’ homes with the aim of improving the family economy. or to reconcile it with the common activities of a housewife who can fulfill her domestic and family duties and take time to pick up her products, publish her advantages, make sales and make deliveries. Nenis’ earnings are usually better.
The nenis trade has become massive, and unlike catalog sales that benefited established companies, their products usually come from informal trade, are pirated, Chinese, “fayuca” or come from smuggling. Nenis usually offer so-called “novelty items” that range from makeup and junk that they already sold, to clothing, tennis shoes, and pirate accessories. This has earned them a wave of criticism from institutions and governments that have sought to hinder their work in public places and even confiscate their merchandise, since it is maintained that the beneficiaries are those who manufacture and mass sell the products in Mexico illegally.
The situation is undoubtedly a double-edged sword. It is true that the nenis are the workforce of these producers and sellers, who have found in them a simple and risk-free way to distribute their goods throughout the country, depending not only on small businesses, but also on micro-vendors. . But it is also true that these online buying and selling models tend to be an important part of the family economy and it is not very credible that this will stop in the future. It is the classic problem of informality, taxes and smuggling that has remained in our country for decades and that tells us about a society where well-paid formal work is scarce, and where women continue to fulfill unequal roles between unpaid domestic work. and the need to have their own capital for themselves and their families.