Lebanon Now ON LOCATION : EZ PAWN

From Real Estate to ‘Precious Metals Pete’: Spencer Brings New Direction to EZ Pawn

After 25 years in real estate, Pete Spencer is taking his career in a new direction, one built around a passion he says has been growing for roughly a decade.

Spencer recently purchased EZ Pawn in Lebanon, adding the established pawn shop to his business interests while continuing to build Midwest Precious Metals Broker, his business focused on coins, gold, silver, jewelry and other precious metals.

Lebanon Now recently went On Location at EZ Pawn to sit down with Spencer about the transition, the future of the business and how a longtime hobby eventually became a major part of his professional life.

Finding a New Passion After 25 Years in Real Estate

For most people who know Spencer professionally, his name has long been associated with real estate.

But after approximately 25 years in the industry, Spencer said his passion for the day-to-day process of buying and selling real estate had faded.

“I would say it’s passion,” Spencer said when asked what drove the change.

Over the past several years, he said he has continued to enjoy mentoring people, educating others and helping members of his real estate team succeed. But personally, another interest had increasingly captured his attention.

For roughly 10 years, Spencer has been collecting coins and learning about jewelry, gold and precious metals.

What started as an interest became something much larger as he learned more about the industry and discovered how little many consumers know about the value of the items they own.

Spencer said that knowledge also created an opportunity to help people better understand their collections, jewelry and inherited items.

Sometimes an item carrying tremendous sentimental value may have relatively little monetary value. Other times, something small or seemingly ordinary can be worth far more than its owner realizes.

For Spencer, helping people understand that difference became part of the appeal.

EZ Pawn Becomes Part of the Plan

Purchasing EZ Pawn gave Spencer something his precious metals business did not have on its own: an established retail operation.

The pawn shop already had experienced employees, existing systems and a longtime customer base. Spencer said that was an important part of what made the opportunity attractive.

Rather than attempting to build an entirely new retail operation from scratch, he could step into an existing business, work with its staff and begin putting his own direction into it.

Spencer said his goal is to take what was already working and “put my flavor into it and make it bigger and make it better.”

It also gives Midwest Precious Metals Broker and Spencer’s growing precious metals work a natural retail connection.

Coins, gold, silver and jewelry fit alongside the wide range of merchandise already associated with EZ Pawn, while the existing staff allows Spencer to spend more of his time concentrating on the areas where his expertise and passion are strongest.

A New Look and a Different Kind of Marketing

Lebanon residents may have already noticed that EZ Pawn has started looking and sounding a little different.

The business has been undergoing a rebrand under Spencer’s ownership, including a new marketing direction designed to introduce both the business and Spencer’s personality to a wider audience.

That has included a series of intentionally funny commercials featuring Spencer and the EZ Pawn staff.

The commercials have allowed the business to have some fun while highlighting merchandise, precious metals and the services available inside the store. They have also helped create Spencer’s newest unofficial alter ego: “Precious Metals Pete.”

The humor may be intentional, but behind it is a serious effort to reshape how people think about EZ Pawn and what the business can offer.

Explaining What a Pawn Shop Actually Does

One of Spencer’s goals is also education.

During the Lebanon Now interview, he addressed some of the misconceptions surrounding pawn shops, including the idea that pawn shops are a destination for stolen property.

Spencer explained that pawn transactions require identification and documentation and that EZ Pawn participates in LeadsOnline, a law enforcement database. Items are documented, including identifying information such as serial numbers when applicable, allowing law enforcement to compare pawn transactions with reported stolen property.

“We don’t want stolen stuff,” Spencer said.

He also explained the difference between selling an item and taking out a pawn loan.

A pawn loan is a short-term loan secured by an item of value. The customer leaves the item as collateral and receives cash based on its value. If the customer repays the loan, the item is returned. If the customer does not repay it, the pawn shop keeps the collateral rather than pursuing the borrower for repayment.

Spencer said it can provide another option for someone who needs access to short-term cash without a traditional loan or credit check.

More Than Pawn Loans

Spencer also wants people to think of EZ Pawn as a secondhand retail store.

The store carries everything from tools and electronics to guitars, firearms, jewelry and other merchandise.

Spencer was already familiar with that side of the business long before becoming its owner.

During the interview, he recalled purchasing dozens of televisions from EZ Pawn while he and his wife operated multiple Airbnb properties. Buying used televisions allowed them to significantly reduce the cost of furnishing the properties.

That same concept, he said, applies to tools and other merchandise.

Someone who needs a saw, tool set or piece of equipment for a project may not need to purchase it new. A quality used item can accomplish the same job at a significantly lower price.

And then there are the things that are a little harder to categorize.

The Lebanon location has its share of unusual items, including taxidermy and even a jackalope, which provided plenty of material for the lighter side of the Lebanon Now conversation.

Midwest Precious Metals Broker

While EZ Pawn gives Spencer a broad retail operation, Midwest Precious Metals Broker represents the side of the business closest to the passion that helped drive his career change.

Spencer has spent years studying coins, gold, silver and jewelry and learning how those markets work.

He said one of the most important parts of dealing with precious metals is helping consumers understand their options.

That does not always mean selling an item to him.

Someone who wants the full retail value of an item may choose to sell it themselves through an online marketplace or another venue. Selling directly to a dealer provides convenience and immediate payment, but the dealer also has to leave room for expenses, risk and eventual resale.

Spencer said he wants customers to understand those differences before making a decision.

“I’m not necessarily trying to make a purchase,” Spencer said. “I’m trying to help people understand what their options are.”

That philosophy is particularly important when dealing with inherited jewelry, coins and family collections where financial and sentimental value can become intertwined.

A New Chapter, Not a Complete Goodbye to Real Estate

Spencer isn’t completely leaving the industry that defined much of his career.

He said his real estate business continues to operate with an established team, and he remains involved approximately two days each week.

But more of his personal attention is now being directed toward EZ Pawn and precious metals.

For Spencer, the transition is ultimately about spending the next chapter of his working life doing something that has brought back some of the excitement he was missing.

“I’m a little more passionate in where I’m focusing my time and energy,” Spencer said.

So after decades of being known around Lebanon as Pete Spencer the real estate guy, residents may need to get used to a new version.

“Precious Metals Pete” is hanging out at the pawn shop now.

EZ Pawn is located at 490 S. Jefferson Ave. in Lebanon.