Well, I've never heard of Vantage, and there are plenty of Japanese companies that make very good Les Paul clones, but they're all a bit more expensive than that.
I have never heard of vantage, there's no stating what the guitar is made of(what woods) and it's been used. I wouldn't trust it.
As Mike said, if you want a LP model it's smart to check Epiphone. They make the best quality LP clones.
Like I've said I've never heard of Vantage, so I can't really say. The good Japanese knock off brands are Greco, Tokai, Edwards. They all make high-quality LP clones, but they're also considerably more expensive than Epiphone guitars, although less expensive than a Gibson.
Never heard of Vantage?!
Wow...
It's not that uncommon for Vantage guitars to appear on auctions etc around here and in fact the reason why I'm over-reacting is that my very first electric was a Vantage VS-600. I got it pre-owned so I'm not sure if the previous owner did any changes to the stock hardware (mainly pickups) but my gosh I love that guitar and the sound is brilliant!
It's not an LP-clone like this one however but something closer to an SG in terms of shape and feel I suppose. I love it, I love it, I love it!
The quality, the feel, the sound and versatility
Check out this site for more info on these guitars:
Japanese Vantage Guitars
EDIT: I almost forgot that I have another Vantage (model VW-180 I think) which is an acoustic steel string and it sounds this good:
.
As for the Epiphone discussion:
The Dot that I own, I'm supposed to sell it but I never remember to. It's been a while since I played it so I don't quite recall what it was about the instrument that made me unhappy with it but I have another one like it, a Washburn HB-30 that kicks butt, so for me there was never any question about which one to keep out of the two. Then again, I've heard there is a bit of "hit-and-miss" element of surprise with the Epiphones but as far as I'm concerned, I'm not going anywhere near an Epiphone again.
If people ask me, I'd recommend them to, if possible of course, try out the instrument for themselves before a purchase. In a way I suppose it's like buying new clothes. If it just doesn't feel right to you - why bother?
Final note: Get that Vantage "Les Paul" and you'll make me a very jealous guitar-player!
I'd even consider to record some quick samples for you if you're interested in what a Vantage guitar sounds like?
EDIT 2: I might as well just throw in this little demo that I recorded for my ex-band a couple of years ago. Just promise me you won't steal the song from me!
http://www.mediafire.com/?geyyk4y2zzi
It contains a section with a kind of clean sound, one with a little dirtier sound, some Edge-like riff for the chorus and harmonics for the second verse.
The guitar is also capable of doing an even cleaner sound, on the edge of being acoustic almost, thanks to the coil split control which I notice is also present on the Les Paul you're looking at. This is not demonstrated in my recording unfortunately. This is a great feature which allows the guitar to sound similar to a stratocaster type guitar, thus you'd be able to go for the classic Edge, (Joshua Tree) sound to a certain extent.