Many, many times people on this side of the pond put up things on eBay they find at auctions/family member's attic/basement or lately with the housing market so busy; things found in a home they just purchased. Rather than take the time to test things, especially if they do not know what they are doing, the item is listed as "As Is".
If one knows what to look for, and has the eye such seller ignorance can be a blessing. This particular auction had a BIN price of only $25 USD. Similar units in far worse shape have been listed with a starting price of much more.
Also "as is" auctions tend to scare off bottom feeders, which means less competition for those of us who know what we are doing/looking for. *LOL*
What I really hate is when cluelss newbie eBayers (those with no or low feedback), put in a low opening bid which cancels out the BIN, then fail to bid over the BIN price. If the item is "hot" others start bidding and soon the item that could have been had for a reasonable BIN price is now twice or more that price. Ok, one could argue that in some cases the item was not worth the BIN price, but in this case the difference was only about $15 USD.
Launderess