Re: should i send a message to the seller that his guitar is a
I am the furthest thing from a Gibson fan and thus, know almost next to nothing but even I, after a very quick look-over, noticed the elongated headstock (although I couldn't quite put my finger on it until I saw the original Gibson Supreme headstock side by side), the seam in the middle, best case scenario, if it was indeed original that would mean it was damaged somehow from the two pieces of the top shifting apart thus it definitely cannot be called "as new", speaking of as new he mentions there have been NO modifications and that it is 100% stock and specifically states 490 and 498 yet there's an SD in the bridge, clear as day (no covers either, I don't remember Gibson not covering their high-end LPs) and, wait for it, he mentions the gorgeous figured back and yet THERE IS NO PICTURE OF THE BACK.
Even an exceedingly good-natured person would be hard pressed not to admit that there are several things wrong with that ad.
Either contact his local craigslist or if you're feeling really vengeful, the local authorities.
I too agree with the crowd that thinks contacting him would only tip him off that he's been found out, best case scenario he will remove the ad only to try and move it some other way, I don't believe there's a chance of saving him from "unknowingly" moving a counterfeit item nor of sparing the poor sap with more money than knowledge that will buy it.
EDIT: I think the Richlite Fretboard was a nice touch, most counterfeiters would be tempted to just call it Ebony. He must have copy-and-pasted the specs from somewhere else, that would also explain the pickups blunder.
EDIT2: Ok, just for fun I googled the number "02005556" with no additional search parameters, just the numbers. Google's top four results were pages mentioning how to spot counterfeit Gibsons, one went as far as mentioning the number as "02005556 Confirmed Clone Les Paul Custom Embossed". I must admit that I found that pretty funny...