It is simply a buyer beware situation - if the VB-2 is dead, chances are it is a relatively inexpensive fix, however, you don't see very many dead VB-2, probably because there's not much you can do with it; (can you recall seeing a beatup VB-2???)
Seems to me, the seller sells a bunch of stuff on ebay, and probably doesn't have the wherewithall to test it and is simply trying to be very very clear of the fact he has not tested it, but the unit indeed LOOKS like it has not had much use.