Ectrical rewiring for neck pickup on an epiphone les paul custom

[Elliebrew89]

Hi guys, I recently bought the les paul custom electric guitar off eBay as a present for my partner. In the description they wrote "Minor electrical rewiring required for neck pickup, otherwise no issues." I thought with it only being minor rewiring, my partner would be able to do it easily but in messages after the sale the seller told me I would have to take it to a shop to get it fixed. I know absolutely nothing about guitars and would appreciate it if anyone could tell me what the shop will have to do to the guitar and roughly how much it would cost. Thanks 

[Dad3353]

A tricky one, this. It might help to give your location; someone could recommend a suitable repair tech, or even be able to have a look at the guitar.
The most expensive option would probably involve swapping out a defective neck pick-up. Not, in itself, difficult, but not a kitchen-table job for the inexperienced. Simple enough for a decent tech, though, for the cost of a pick-up and roughly an hour total 'fettling' time. A set-up for the guitar at the same time would be ideal, whilst it's on the bench.
On the other hand, it could be as simple as a duff solder joint, broken wire or bad switch or volume pot. Again, not difficult tasks for any tech; he/she would be able to detect such a defect pretty easily.
As for cost, I'm afraid it's a bit vague, so the spread is rather wide. Pick-ups start at around £30, but can rise to double that very quickly, or triple figures for more 'classy' ones. If it really needs changing, give the tech a ceiling on the cost of replacement; it doesn't have to be an original 'Epiphone' one. A second-hand pick-up would be fine, too, if it's from a reliable source.
Hourly rates for a tech are too varied to enable guessing, but any decent workshop  would give an estimate before involving expense. Give a budget, and the work may come out to be less than that.

Hope this helps; good luck with the project. They're nice guitars, especially once set up properly to suit the player. 

[Kiwi]

Without more clarity regarding the actual problem, it's difficult to avoid speculating and be more helpful.  Did the seller describe in any more detail what the issue was beyond 'a wiring problem'.  That could be anything from a dry solder joint to a replacement pick up, as Dad3353 suggests.