Jay
In reality only one thing will give you a GOOD bonsai and that is time. By this I mean time working with the material. There are not too many short cuts. Only time will give you the best in this art form.
Now you have to decide on whose time to use. Your time or pay for someone else's time.
You spend the time , pinching, pruning, wiring and otherwise preparing the material or
This goes not only for the "finished" bonsai but the raw material to work with as well.
I hope that this simple answer makes some sense and helps you make a decision.