man i'm losing my mind trying to decide if i should just pay for proxy apis or hunt down cheap proxy lists online. everyone's got an opinion but nobody says what actually works long-term. like yeah apis cost more but do they really save you from all the dead proxies and bad connections? or are cheap lists fine if you're careful? sometimes feels like i'm just throwing money at something that should be simple. honestly id rather spend a bit more on a reliable api with steady speed and good anti-detection, but then i see ppl bragging about these cheap lists for like 10 bucks a month. ngl ive burned through so many free or super cheap proxies it's insane. if anyone's tried both give me some real thoughts - is quality worth the extra cash or are budget options still okay for scraping and testing? i just want my stuff to run smooth without constant dead proxies or getting flagged all the time.