*This article is a highlight of the YouTube interview between Kyle MacNall and Steven Ibrahim, the owner of Surplus Soldier. Watch the full interview here at www.YouTube.com/@SurplusToday

 

Tell us a little about how Surplus Soldier got started.

We started Surplus Soldier right around the beginning of 2025. We haven’t been in it too long, but we’ve been around the industry for a while. I’ve always dabbled in the surplus and tactical space on a personal level. I was actually part of an online auction website that wholesales surplus items to the public, but I had put that aside for a while. Then one day, while driving to Las Vegas, I saw a sign and thought, wait, I’m part of that website—I should check them out. By the time I got home, I was already a couple thousand dollars into it. From there, it just snowballed.

So you’re driving home from Vegas after spending thousands on surplus—what was next?

We started small and bought just one pallet. I went and picked it up, and it was gone within three days. I do remember thinking, whoa, that was fast. From there, we kept buying more and more and slowly built the business—completely bootstrapped. We’ve always had the mindset that you either walk away or dive in fully. We don’t do anything halfway—we go all in. I had been an eBay reseller for a long time, so that’s where we listed and sold that first pallet. But the platform feels a bit stagnant now, and I think a lot of customers are shifting to other platforms.What other selling platforms are you using?

At one point, we had a ton of inventory sitting in the warehouse, and my niece and brother suggested, “Hey, let’s try doing a show on the Whatnot app.” I said, why not? What else are we doing on a Friday night? So we set up our first show—and it ran for six hours. They were going nonstop. It was wild, but it was also a lot of fun. We sold a lot, of course, but more importantly, we really connected with the community. We had watched Whatnot before, but being on the other side of the camera was a completely different experience. My nieces loved it. It became a great way to bring the family together and interact with people we’d never met before. From there, we started building a community. I wasn’t very comfortable on camera at first, but over time I’ve grown to enjoy it—mainly because I really enjoy talking to people. Being on camera is just part of the deal.

I’ve noticed how engaged and active your community and customers are on Whatnot.

It really comes down to the community. Keeping this industry alive depends on all of us—sellers, buyers, brick-and-mortar stores—everyone. Times are changing. The younger generation isn’t going into stores like they used to. These days, it’s someone sitting on their couch, scrolling and ordering whatever they want. That applies to just about everything. Amazon changed the game, and COVID accelerated that shift. People stayed home, but products still showed up at their door.

Can you tell us a little about how you set up your live Whatnot shows?

We stream live right from our warehouse. First, we schedule the show in the app and upload all of the inventory. I have a desk with a computer off to the side where we run the auctions, and a large TV in front of me so I can follow the live stream, chat, and questions in real time. When it’s time to sell an item, I pull it up on the computer and then show it in hand on camera as the auction starts. After the show, everything moves to our packing area. We set up tables and start packing orders for shipment. Whatnot automatically generates shipping labels based on each customer’s total order, which makes the process a lot smoother.

How often do you hold live shows on Whatnot?

We run shows every Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time—that’s our one consistent slot. We also try to do shows on Sundays and Tuesdays, but those can vary depending on our schedule. Things can get a little hectic, especially if we’re attending events like the ANME Trade Show, but we do our best to stay consistent. One of the great things about Whatnot is the flexibility—you can schedule shows around your life and adjust as needed.How can people find Surplus Soldier and tune in?

You can find Surplus Soldier’s online website at the www.surplussoldier.com, where he lists items that can’t be sold on Whatnot. You can also follow and join our live shows on Whatnot at www.whatnot.com/user/surplussoldier.