The Problem
I’m experiencing an inventory/fulfillment issue where all my products are showing as “Sold Out” on my online store, even though I have active POD (Print on Demand) apps connected and inventory should be managed automatically. I believe this is related to location settings and how Shopify routes online orders for fulfillment. This didn’t start happening until I used Shopify POS.
My Business Setup
I run a clothing brand that uses multiple POD providers for online fulfillment, but I also want to sell in-person at pop-up events using Shopify POS. Here’s my current setup:
POD Providers Connected:
- Printful (for some products)
- Subliminator (for other products)
Locations I Need:
- POD fulfillment for all online orders (main business)
- Home address (Oni Threads) for temporary pop-up events only
Current Location Configuration
Based on my Settings → Locations page, I currently have:
POD Fulfillment Center
- Status: Active
- Address: 11025 Westlake Drive, Charlotte North Carolina, United States
- This should handle all online order fulfillment via my POD apps
Oni Threads
- Status: Inactive (when not doing events)
- Address: Home address
- This should only be used temporarily for in-person POS sales at pop-up events
What I’ve Tried
I went through Shopify support chat and they suggested setting up separate locations and making my POD location the “default” for online orders. However, the instructions they provided don’t match what I’m seeing in my admin interface.
Support told me to look for:
-
A “Default location” section in Settings → Locations
-
A “Change” or “Set as default” button
-
Options to control which location “fulfills online orders”
What I actually see:
- My locations list shows Active/Inactive status
- I don’t see any obvious “Default location” section or buttons
- No clear way to designate which location handles online vs in-person orders
My Goal
I want to achieve this workflow:
Normal days (online sales only):
- All online orders automatically fulfilled by POD apps (Printful, Subliminator, etc.)
- Oni Threads location inactive and not affecting online inventory
- Products show as available online since POD handles inventory
Pop-up event days:
- Online orders still go to POD apps (no interruption)
- Activate Oni Threads location temporarily
- Use Shopify POS to sell specific inventory from Oni Threads location
- After event, deactivate Oni Threads again
Specific Questions
Location Default Settings: Where exactly do I find the setting to make “POD Fulfillment Center” the default location for online order fulfillment? I’ve checked Settings → Locations and Settings → General but I’m not seeing the options that support described.
Inventory Tracking: Should I turn off inventory tracking for my Oni Threads location entirely to prevent it from affecting online availability? If so, how do I manage inventory for specific pop-up events?
POD App Integration: Do I need separate locations for each POD provider (Printful location, Subliminator location) or can one “POD Fulfillment Center” location handle multiple POD apps automatically routing to the correct provider?
POS Configuration: What’s the correct way to temporarily enable my home location for POS sales without disrupting online POD fulfillment? Should I be changing default settings each time I have an event?
Technical Details- Shopify Plan: Basic
- Apps installed: Printful, Subliminator, DSers, SFN-Flexport, Shopify POS
- Issue started after setting up Shopify POS for in-person sales
- Products were working fine online before adding the POS component
What Would Help
If anyone has experience with a similar setup (POD fulfillment + occasional POS events), I’d love to know:
- The exact steps to set default fulfillment location
- Best practices for managing inventory across POD and POS locations
- How to toggle POS location on/off for events without affecting online sales
- Screenshots or specific menu paths would be incredibly helpful
I’ve been going in circles with this for days and would really appreciate guidance from someone who has solved this type of location/fulfillment configuration before.
Thank you for any help you can provide!