5 Iron,
Please don't call me a beancounter, that really is offensive
Let's just say I have a very knowledgeable insight into how agencies work, no, not Rishworths.
Agencies, as a rule of thumb, don't work on a flat fee of perhaps USD1,000, they work on a percentage thus the higher the salary, the more they make, the lower the salary, the less they make.
Some agencies will 'prostitute' themselves lower than others, 'yes sir, we can get you pilots for next to nothing, you just leave it to us'. and just to secure the contract.
Other agencies, with better things to do than hunt high and low for pilots prepared to work for next to nothing, will try to get the rates increased.
All I'd say is that salaries are determined by market conditions. In ICAO land they don't need to pay JAR salaries, it's as straightforward as that and please bear in mind, that whilst you may be offended at a particular salary on offer, the agency could have worked damn hard to get it to that rate from the p1ss p00r offer it started at.
A polite declination to an email costs nothing! If you get them on the phone trying to give you the 'hard sell' then by all means, foxtrot oscar might be appropriate!