Follow up - what stops you, as a candidate, from discussing this upfront?

It makes you look greedy. I am greedy, but it's bad form to appear that way. In the same way you want sex on the first date, but you can't make that known before the waiter has even taken your drink orders. That's why I like working with recruiters (not the sex part)...the recruiter can get the ballpark for me (or already knows it if the company is a client) and we can decide whether to even pursue it.