diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/dev-cmd/bottle.rb b/Library/Homebrew/dev-cmd/bottle.rb
index dcc9e0e98c..b1a3ebb431 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/dev-cmd/bottle.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/dev-cmd/bottle.rb
@@ -190,12 +190,12 @@ module Homebrew
       changed_files = nil
 
       begin
+        keg.delete_pyc_files!
+
         unless ARGV.include? "--skip-relocation"
           changed_files = keg.replace_locations_with_placeholders
         end
 
-        keg.delete_pyc_files!
-
         Tab.clear_cache
         tab = Tab.for_keg(keg)
         original_tab = tab.dup