I’ve bought well over 100 Les Pauls in the last three years.

That means I’ve also seen the same expensive mistakes over and over from sellers who left $200–$1,500 on the table — or took months longer than necessary to move their guitar.

Here are the eight costliest ones I see every single week (and exactly how to dodge them).

• Over-cleaning or “detailing” the guitar before photos Polishing out light swirl marks or using lemon oil on a 50-year-old rosewood board can drop value $300–$800 on Historics and vintage pieces. Collectors want honest patina, not shiny “just detailed” plastic.

• Listing without the serial number visible in the photos Buyers (and serious offers) vanish the second they have to message you for it. One clear headstock-back shot = 3× faster sale.

• Pricing off the highest Reverb listing instead of the lowest 5 SOLD comps In late 2025 the gap between “asking” and “sold” is often $400–$900 on Standards and $1,000+ on R9s. Check the green “Sold” filter, not the pretty pictures at the top.

• Not weighing the guitar A 2020 Standard at 8.4 lbs sells 25–30% faster (and $250–$500 higher) than an identical 9.8 lb example. Put it on a $15 Amazon scale and put the exact weight in the title.

• Forgetting to photograph the case and case candy Original Lifton or brown/pink Custom Shop case = instant +$300–$600. COA, checklist, hang tags = another +$100–$250. If you have them, show them.

• Accepting PayPal Friends & Family or cash-in-person from strangers Chargebacks and reversals are at an all-time high in 2025. Use Goods & Services (you eat the 3%, but you sleep at night) or meet inside a police station parking lot.

• Shipping in the original Gibson box without a second outer box UPS destroys about 1 in 200 single-boxed shipments. Double-box or use a dedicated guitar shipper. $40 in cardboard saves $4,000 in tears.

• Waiting for “the perfect buyer” instead of taking a strong offer The market is moving down 1–3% per month on most non-vintage models right now. A bird-in-hand $2,200 offer today usually beats the “maybe $2,500 in spring” fantasy.

Fix these eight things and your Les Paul will sell faster, for more money, and with dramatically less stress — whether you list it yourself or decide to get an instant offer from someone who does this for a living (hint: iBuyLesPaul.com).

Got a Les Paul you’re thinking of moving?

Many end up realizing they’d rather just sell it to us instead. Either way, you win.