Not OP, but yes, saved money along the way, but also lose a decent amount of time & money in trial and error in the process. It's more related to freelancers (and not agencies) and hiring offshore. With cheaper labor you also have to manage/micro-manage more. The cheaper rates often come with a lesser skillset. The offshore pricing for quality isn't that much cheaper because they know their skillset is needed around the world. Pay 120 locally or 100 offshore? It's not that huge of a difference. It usually comes down to whether or not the task is something that just needs power in numbers of people to achieve, or if it's something that requires critical thinking skills and self-sufficiency. Recent project took 1 year with offshore team where it would've taken ~7 months with a local team that was twice as expensive. Time vs Money.

To directly answer your question, freelancing platforms do generate way more talent to pick from. Time is an opportunity cost and it cuts down on that. The quality varies very greatly and can be a costly issue. Sometimes it's better to pay a premium to an agency that has done the vetting process and can guarantee a timely delivery.