Korean for Secondhand Pickups: Asking a Seller to Hold an Item
Learn polite informal Korean patterns to ask a seller on a secondhand app to reserve or hold an item until you can pick it up, using 예약, 잡아두다 and 보관.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
On Korean secondhand apps, items often sell within minutes, so buyers who need time to arrange transport must ask the seller to hold the item. This lesson teaches you how to make that request clearly and politely in polite informal Korean (해요체). You will learn the key nouns 예약 (reservation), 잡아두다 (to hold or set aside), and 보관 (storage or safekeeping), plus two reusable patterns: 예약해주실 수 있어요? and 내일까지 잡아주세요. The focus is on real messages you can send in a chat, not on generic travel phrases. You will also practise asking follow-up questions about pickup time and place, and you will see how the same request changes when you speak to a seller you have never met.
By the end, you can…
- ask a seller to reserve an item until I can pick it up.
- use 잡아두다 and 보관 to talk about holding an item.
- ask follow-up questions about pickup time and place.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
혹시 예약해주실 수 있어요?
Could you possibly reserve it for me?
hoksi yeyak-hae-jusil su isseoyo?
Polite informal request. Use 혹시 to soften the ask when you are a new buyer.
내일까지 잡아주세요.
Please hold it until tomorrow.
naeil-kkaji jabajuseyo.
Direct but polite. Replace 내일 with a specific day or time, such as 토요일 오후.
물건 아직 있으면 잠시 보관해주실 수 있어요?
If the item is still available, could you keep it for a moment?
mulgeon ajik isseumyeon jamsi bogwanhaejusil su isseoyo?
Use when you are not sure whether the item is still available.
픽업 시간은 언제가 괜찮으세요?
What pickup time works for you?
pikeop siganeun eonjega gwaenchaneuseyo?
Asks the seller to suggest a time instead of demanding one.
예약금을 드려야 할까요?
Should I pay a deposit?
yeyakgeumeul deuryeoya halkkayo?
Asks about a deposit without assuming the seller requires one.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern 예약해주실 수 있어요? means 'Could you reserve it for me?' It combines 예약하다 (to reserve) with -해주실 수 있어요?, a polite informal way to ask whether someone can do something for you. You can swap the verb: 잡아주실 수 있어요? (Could you hold it?) or 보관해주실 수 있어요? (Could you keep it?). The second pattern, 내일까지 잡아주세요, means 'Please hold it until tomorrow.' Here 까지 marks the deadline, and 잡아주세요 is a polite request form of 잡아두다. Use these patterns in chat messages, not in formal writing.
When to use it
Use 예약해주실 수 있어요? when you want the seller to mark the item as reserved for you. Use 내일까지 잡아주세요 when you already know your pickup deadline and want to be clear. If the seller seems busy or the item is popular, add 혹시 at the start to sound less demanding: 혹시 내일까지 잡아주실 수 있어요? For storage questions, 보관 is the noun; 보관해주실 수 있어요? asks the seller to keep the item safe. Always confirm the pickup place and time after the seller agrees, for example 픽업 시간은 언제가 괜찮으세요?
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
안녕하세요, 이 물건 아직 있나요?
Hello, is this item still available?annyeonghaseyo, i mulgeon ajik innayo?네, 아직 있어요.
Yes, it is still available.ne, ajik isseoyo.혹시 내일까지 잡아주실 수 있어요? 픽업 시간은 언제가 괜찮으세요?
Could you possibly hold it until tomorrow? What pickup time works for you?hoksi naeil-kkaji jabajusil su isseoyo? pikeop siganeun eonjega gwaenchaneuseyo?네, 내일 오후 6시까지 보관해드릴게요.
Yes, I will keep it for you until 6 p.m. tomorrow.ne, naeil ohu yeoseot-si-kkaji bogwanhaedeurilgeyo.A little context goes a long way
Korean secondhand app chats usually start with a short greeting and a question about availability before any request. Politeness is shown through 해요체 endings and softeners like 혹시 and -주실 수 있어요?. Sellers may decline to hold items because of no-shows, so offer a clear pickup time and ask about a deposit rather than assuming one. Avoid casual 반말 with strangers.
One thing to watch for
Using 예약했어요 to mean 'Please reserve it for me.'
Try this instead: 예약했어요 means 'I made a reservation' or 'I reserved it,' a statement about the past. To ask the seller to reserve it, say 혹시 예약해주실 수 있어요? or 내일까지 잡아주세요.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask a seller to hold an item until Saturday?
Show a sample answer
토요일까지 잡아주세요.
This uses 까지 for the deadline and 잡아주세요 as a polite request. 토요일까지 잡아주실 수 있어요? is also correct and slightly softer.
2Which word means 'storage' or 'safekeeping' in this context?
Show a sample answer
보관
보관 is the noun for keeping an item safe. The verb form 보관하다 appears in 보관해주실 수 있어요? (Could you keep it for me?).
3You are not sure the item is still available. What can you ask first?
Show a sample answer
이 물건 아직 있나요?
This asks whether the item is still available. 혹시 아직 판매 중이세요? is another natural alternative.
To hold an item on a Korean secondhand app, greet the seller, ask if it is available, then use 혹시 예약해주실 수 있어요? or 내일까지 잡아주세요. Confirm the pickup time and ask about a deposit instead of assuming one.
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