I had a debate with a friend about which is better, purchasing a token new token before its listing on an exchange or the moment it gets listed.
It depends on the potential of a coin; if the coin is good, buying it early, like in a presale, will give you a good profit. A presale offers a bonus percentage in every stage, so if a coin has good potential and community support, strategic accumulation in its presale is better than buying it after the listing.
Some investors prefer buying a coin on their favorite exchange, which is why they prefer to buy it if there is an announcement of listing on their preferred exchange.
Choosing the best time to buy a token can be confusing because you never know how profitable or how long it'll be profitable before it starts to dump. You can buy on presale and it'll be dead on arrival after it's launch, that is if it gets listed and if it's in a reputable exchange. You can choose to be on the safer side and buy after it gets listed and miss out on the benefits of buying during presale. If it's a coin/token that has potentials, then it's better to buy during presale, but the question mark is how to know a project that has potentials. If you as an investor knows how to diligently DYOR then presale will be a better option if you're satisfy about it's potentials.