Selling another showroom's floor model and getting it to the customer

The customer wants the Madison sofa now, in exactly the Fog linen on the floor model at Uptown. She is standing in Riverside, eleven miles away. The piece exists, the color is right, and nobody wants to wait through a manufacturing lead time just because the sofa happens to be in the other building.

Make the sale by naming the exact unit, its condition, its stock location, and its route to the customer. OrderPilot brings configuration stock and per-item handover into the showroom conversation. A physical transfer between stores remains a separate movement to arrange and record in Shopify.

This example uses the invented Linden & Oak showrooms and a 96-inch Madison in Fog linen. It follows one floor-model sale from the iPad to collection. For the broader process, see one sofa from showroom to living room.

Find the exact piece, not merely the same model

Configure the Madison on the iPad with its length, fabric, and leg finish. The stock result is useful only if Uptown's floor unit is recorded as that configuration. A count against “Madison sofa” cannot tell the associate whether the available piece is the one the customer wants. The product picker can show stock here and elsewhere. In the example, Riverside has none and Uptown has one. Before promising the piece, have Uptown verify its identity, condition, and availability. The physical floor may reveal an unrecorded hold or a mark acquired since the last photograph. A quick confirmation is worthwhile when there is only one unit. Use the same configuration identifiers in the order and in the message to the other showroom. “The gray one near the window” is a location clue, not a specification; showrooms have a remarkable ability to contain several gray ones near several windows.

Price the condition the customer is actually accepting

Describe the floor model clearly and record visible wear. In the sample order, the note says “Floor model; light wear on left arm,” with photographs reviewed by the customer. Keep condition wording in a customer-facing line description so it survives beyond the associate's spoken explanation.

Use the authorized item discount and a reason where the store requires one. Say the regular price is $3,000 and the approved floor-model discount is $450. The piece sells for $2,550 before delivery and tax. The discount does not erase the need to describe the condition or settle the handover arrangement. If the customer has only seen a photograph, say what that photograph establishes and arrange any further inspection needed before approval. Do not describe the unit as pristine because the mark is outside the camera angle. The floor-model selling guide covers the condition conversation and the difference between a sample sale and ordering a fresh piece.

Choose the other showroom as the source

Select Uptown as the stock source rather than Order New. That choice tells the order which stock configuration and location supply the sale. Keep the held unit connected to the customer order and tell Uptown that the piece is committed, so its team does not continue offering it as freely available. The source location is different from the selling location and from the people receiving sales credit. Use the store's reporting policy for showroom attribution, and record the credited associates explicitly. Moving the sofa from Uptown does not by itself decide who earned the commission, and choosing a stock location should not be used as a substitute for a sales-credit decision.

The cross-location stock guide covers the inventory trap in more detail. The principle here is simple: record the actual source and leave fulfillment tied to the goods' movement, rather than treating checkout at Riverside as proof that a sofa left Riverside.

Choose the route before promising a pickup day

The customer can receive delivery from Uptown or collect later from Riverside after the store moves the sofa. Choose the per-unit handover method that matches that plan. A pickup promise at Riverside needs someone responsible for getting the unit there first. Use a native Shopify transfer for the inter-store movement. Specify the sending and receiving locations, match the exact stock item, and reconcile the transfer when the piece arrives. Shopify Winter '26 documents accepting or rejecting transfer shipments through the Transfers POS extension at POS Pro locations. The transfer and the customer's final collection are separate events.

Before moving the unit, have the back office reconcile its reservation and fulfillment location with the planned pickup. Do not create a second available sofa at Riverside while leaving the original available at Uptown. The person receiving the transfer should know which customer order is waiting for it and where the protected unit will be held.

If other pieces on the order follow different routes, keep their handover choices separate. A lamp going home today does not make the sofa collected. See mixed pickup and delivery orders for that common variation.

Finish the agreement and payment without finishing delivery

Review the configuration, condition, discount, pickup location, and agreed arrangements with the customer. Sign on the iPad or use the signing link, then take the payment through the appropriate checkout flow. For this example, the customer pays in full and collects later.

If a deposit is used instead, native POS Take Deposit requires Shopify Plus; on other Shopify plans, enabled OrderPilot deposit orders are an Admin quote/draft flow with a separate pay link. Choose the method before promising what can be collected at the register. The payment history then gives the receiving location a clear view of what remains due.

Payment does not mean the unit has left. Keep that distinction visible in the order so a full payment does not accidentally tell staff to skip the inter-store movement or final handover. The customer should receive a precise collection message after the sofa is physically ready.

Inspect the unit after the transfer

Compare the sofa's condition at Riverside with the photos and description agreed at sale. If it was damaged on the way, hold the handover, record the damage, and tell the customer promptly. The agreed discount for existing arm wear is not permission to deliver additional damage without discussion.

Assign the transport claim or internal correction to a staff member and settle the customer-facing remedy before resuming collection. Depending on the situation, that can involve repair, a different agreed offer, or another resolution. Update the order record and seek fresh approval when the customer-facing agreement changes.

Keep the inventory location truthful while the issue is handled. A sofa held for inspection is physically present but not ready for the customer. This prevents the sales floor from making a new promise on the assumption that a received transfer equals a completed delivery check.

Record the actual customer handover

Use the Awaiting pickup view to find orders still waiting at the store. Verify the customer, piece, condition, and payment position before collection. Mark the unit collected with the actual handover date; for delivery, record the corresponding shipment and delivered events as they happen. OrderPilot ties fulfillment to the goods leaving, rather than payment alone. The awaiting-pickup guide explains the daily routine that keeps paid furniture from becoming invisible at the back door.

Coverage recorded in OrderPilot starts at delivery or collection for the unit, not when it first stood on the showroom floor. Record the serial number and the floor-model coverage actually promised; manufacturer terms can treat display pieces differently. If a manual start is needed for the agreed coverage, make it a deliberate, explained decision.

Replace the display and close the two-store handoff

If the collection still needs a floor sample, create a standalone vendor PO for its replacement. Choose the display configuration intentionally: it might repeat the sold Fog linen or show another useful fabric. A replenishment decision should serve the assortment, not simply fill the rectangle left on the rug.

Finish with a two-showroom checklist: exact unit verified, condition accepted, discount recorded, stock held, source named, transfer reconciled, customer handover recorded, serial and coverage settled, and replacement display assigned. Both stores can then explain where the sofa went and which order it belongs to.

Sources

1. Shopify Editions: Winter '26 — Receive transfer shipments in-store — Shopify, Winter '26. POS Pro transfer-receiving capability.