When you edit a buy transaction, the Edit form shows the same Storage Location field you saw at purchase. The behavior of that field on edit is the one place where Storage Locations interact with the rest of the editing flow in a non-obvious way, and it's worth understanding before you make changes — especially if you've Moved items between locations since the original buy.
The short version: leaving the field alone preserves every item's current location, even if you edit other things on the transaction. Changing the field cascades the new value to every item the transaction created, overriding any per-item Moves.
This article covers what the field shows for an existing transaction, when each behavior kicks in, and when to use the Edit form versus per-item Move on Holdings.
Where the Storage Location field lives on the Edit form
The Edit form mirrors the Add Purchase form. The Storage Location dropdown sits in the Transaction Details section alongside Portfolio, Purchase Date, Dealer, and Notes. Same options as on Add Purchase — your storage locations grouped by type, with Unassigned at the top.
You reach the Edit form from the Transactions History page: click into the transaction you want to change, then click Edit.
What the field shows for an existing transaction
The dropdown shows whatever you picked at purchase time — the original assignment, not a live representation of where items currently sit.
If items from this transaction have been Moved to different locations since the buy, the form value doesn't reflect those moves.
There's no single value that represents "split across three locations," so the form just shows the original.
This means the field can look out of date even when nothing's wrong. The Holdings page is the source of truth for where any specific item lives right now; the Edit form's value is a snapshot of the original buy.
The no-cascade default
Saving the Edit form without touching the Storage Location field doesn't push anything to existing items. Every item keeps its current location — from the original assignment, from a Move, or from being auto-unassigned after its location was deleted.
This means you can edit the dealer name, a price, a date, or any other field on the form without worrying about disturbing per-item Moves. Storage assignments stay where they were until you deliberately change them.
When changing the field cascades
If you change the Storage Location dropdown to a different value and save, the new value applies to every item the transaction created — overriding any per-item Moves done since the buy.
A worked example. You bought 10 coins originally assigned to Delaware Depository. Later you Moved 5 of them to a Safe Deposit Box. The items are now split — 5 at Delaware, 5 at the bank.
You edit the transaction and don't touch the location field: Both groups stay where they are. 5 at Delaware, 5 at the bank.
You edit the transaction and change the location field to Self Storage: All 10 coins snap to Self Storage. The earlier 5-and-5 split is gone.
The second behavior is occasionally what you want — if the original buy was assigned to the wrong location and every item really should move together. It's a sledgehammer for cases where you only want to re-split a few items.
When to use the Edit form vs. Move on Holdings
A quick decision tree:
You want to correct the original location for every item from this buy: Change the field on the Edit form. Cascades to all items in one save.
You want to relocate some items but not others: Use Move on the Holdings page, per item.
You want to leave locations alone but fix something else on the transaction: Edit normally. The Storage Location field is safe to ignore.
The Edit form is per-transaction; Move is per-item. Use the tool that matches the shape of the change you want.
After you save
If the Storage Location field cascaded, the downstream effects match a per-item Move: the Holdings page Location column updates on every affected item, the Custody Statement recomputes on the next render, the Dashboard's Custody Breakdown and Holdings by Location widgets adjust, and the Tax Report reclassifies items if they moved into or out of an IRA-typed location.
If the field didn't change, nothing about your custody picture changes. Only the other edited fields are committed.
Where to go next
Moving items between locations: The per-item tool for relocating items without touching the transaction.
Assigning a location when recording a purchase: The Add Purchase form's selector for setting location at buy time.
Editing a transaction after the fact: The broader edit-flow article covering every field on the form.
Deleting a buy transaction: What happens to items, and their locations, when the whole transaction is deleted.