It depends on the individuals doing the recruiting and what their incentives are. If you're talking to someone who just wants to fill chairs in the short-term, you can make certain plays like that. Some recruiters are just trying to fill chairs and will overlook certain behaviors in order to "close the deal".
On the other hand, I know that if I were trying to build a team, and someone said that he could get 10% more as an "analyst" at Goldman, I'd advise him to do so. Why would I want to hire someone who wants to work an entry-level banking job? Some people care more about remuneration and cachet than interesting work and that's fine, but like should dance with like. If 12 months of punishing hours and miserable work humbled him a bit, and he realized he wanted a work environment that assessed him according to ability rather than pointless sacrifice, I'd be willing to talk to him again after that point.
Let's say I'm hiring people into an exciting tech company. How is a guy who is going to work for Goldman over 10% "a quality guy"? Maybe he's talented, but do I really want to hire a guy who values small differences in pay over the difference between a great opportunity and a crappy banking job? No. I'd rather let that guy work at Goldman, so he can see how much it sucks first-hand and then possibly come back looking for something more rewarding (or not).
I don't understand, is it a small difference in pay or not? If it's not, why not hire the guy? If it is, why do you think it's so strange that that would make his decision for him?
I feel like you're just the other side of the coin, thinking your company is "exciting", while the guy thinks he's worth more than you're offering.
Does he think he's worth more than I'm offering (a) because he has some talent or skill I'm not aware of, or (b) because Goldman Sachs is willing to pay him more to do 120 hours per week of mind-numbing work?
If (a), I want to hear what he has to say. If (b), he should work at Goldman.
I'm 27 and have 4 years development experience. And I'm talented. I could realistically make $250-300k if I sold out and worked in investment banking-- a lot more than I'm worth at my level of experience, and more than I'd expect in a normal software job. I'd hate my life and probably burn out in the first 45 days, but I could do it if the thought of being a banker didn't disgust me.
Ok I looked at your commenting history and it seems like you have this same discussion over and over. I disagree with you, but I definitely see merit to what you're saying.
That is to say, a tiny minority of recruiters.