When I receive recruiter emails, I politely respond with my situation (I work from home, do hourly consulting, won't relocate, always have people knocking, etc.) and say if that doesn't work for them, then I won't be able to help them. The responses usually come in two forms:
- Thanks for your response, but my client (confirms they're a real recruiter, and not even necessarily an employee of the company they have an email address at) requires on site. Do you know of anyone that might fit?
- We really want to grow the team locally, but need someone right away. Can we talk further about what you might be able to do for us? (confirms that it's actually an employee, that they are actually hiring to fill a specific need, not just generic growing, etc.)
The second one, for me, has turned in to a consulting gig more often than not. It fulfills what codenoire says about not wasting time, but also confirms that it's actually a full time spot. A real recruiter will get paid more for full time placement so, of course, they won't lead with consulting opportunities. A team of real employees just needs to get work done. If their recruiters are failing, they'll need to fill in regardless. If you're the right person, they'll usually appreciate the simplicity of a consulting agreement over hiring, anyway, especially since it's gives them flexibility down the road.
Incidentally, unlike what codenoire says, all my contract work is 10-99 based. All my work is done in the state I'm located at; my clients are never in my home state, though. Video calls have almost completely removed the need for on-site visits. (Unfortunately, I enjoy the occasional work trips.)
I hope this helps.