Empty perfume bottles are still for sale on Iranian classified sites. ILNA reported the listings Sunday as part of a wider dump of household leftovers. This paper's Thursday clinical note treated the listing as liquidation. Friday the ads still appear. [1]

Sellers now bundle several low-value items in a single ad to raise the chance of a buyer. Iran International said the same inventory includes natural hair sold for extensions. [1][2]

A used shoe still has a use. An empty bottle has only the last rial that someone will pay for glass and a memory of scent. ILNA said everyday objects are being used until they have no remaining economic value. [1]

Year-on-year inflation stood at 87.9 percent in the print ILNA cited. [1][2] Hair ads have become more common beside the bottles. [2] X stops at the image. The agency's point is the market. When classifieds treat residue as inventory, inflation has finished the argument about discretionary spending. The classified line is still the record, not a joke.

Monday's paper did not need a new metaphor. Friday does not invent one. When residue is inventory, discretionary spending is already a closed argument. The classified line is still the record, not a joke.

-- NORA WHITFIELD, Chicago