I’m curious about this too. It seems like the system always uses the Fulfillment Center Priority as a fallback strategy, but there’s no option to opt out of this scheme altogether. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s possible to do with Multiple Shipping Profiles, but I don’t think so
Topic summary
A merchant is struggling with Shopify’s multi-location inventory system displaying products as available when they’re out of stock at their designated fulfillment location. They operate two locations: a main warehouse for storage (Location #1) and a fulfillment center for online sales (Location #2), with fulfillment priority set to Location #2 only.
Core Problem:
- Products show as available in the online store even when Location #2 has zero inventory, as long as Location #1 has stock
- Collections configured to hide zero-inventory items aren’t working as expected
- This creates poor user experience with out-of-stock items appearing
Related Issues Identified:
- Shopify allows overselling at default locations even when secondary locations can’t ship to the customer’s region
- System creates fulfillment orders at locations without appropriate shipping zones
- Location shipping zones aren’t properly considered when determining product availability
Attempted Solutions:
- One plugin exists but only works on product pages, not quick-add or cart functions
- Suggestions include using checkout webhooks or region-based inventory checks (requires custom development)
- A user recommends unchecking “Fulfill online orders from this location” in location settings
The discussion remains open with no confirmed resolution for the original poster’s specific configuration.