Getting your cards professionally graded is not an inexpensive endeavor, but it could pay off.

It is critical to be smart about it, though. Knowing what to get graded requires paying attention to what is going on in the marketplace. Specifically, knowing what is hot and what is not.

Taking the current baseball season as an example, it is no secret that Chicago Cubs rookie Kris Bryant is the hottest name in the sports-card collecting industry.

If a collector is lucky enough to pull a Bryant autograph card out of pack, then it will likely be worth the while to get graded.

A 2013 Bowman Chrome Bryant autograph is $350-$400. Copies that are graded Gem Mint by Beckett Grading Services (BGS) and Pro Sports Authentication (PSA) have gone for $450-$550. When considering the cost of submitting a card to either company to get graded, the insurance and postage – both to and from – then it still could be worth the while. The price of getting the card graded could be $25-$50 depending on the level of service, i.e., two-day turnaround or a month or longer.

For a high-end card such as the aforementioned Bryant Bowman Chrome autograph, getting it graded could certainly worth the while. It may not be worth the while to have Bryant’s 2014 Bowman Chrome (non-auto) graded. The card generally sells for $10-$15 and Gem Mint graded copy might sell for $35. Unless a collector has several to get graded and receives a nice quantity discount, then it would likely not be wise to pay to get such a card graded.

In fact, one graded Mint might not command much more of a sales price than a non-graded card.

Again, it is about acquiring education on what is selling and what is not and the realized difference in the value of graded versus non-graded cards.

Also, if Bryant broke his leg tomorrow and it was determined he would not return until the back end of the 2016 season, then a lot of collectors could potentially be out a substantial amount of money as his cards would suffer great losses. That is why when capitalizing on players that are hot today it is wise to spend the additional amount to get cards graded with a quicker turnaround time.

Conversely, the 1958 Topps rookie card of Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, for example, is not going to fluctuate based on his play simply because he has been retired for half a century. Hence, getting his cards and those of other retired greats can be done with much less urgency as far as the turnaround time.

Still, it is important to know what is worth the while to get graded. Any Jim Brown card that is in nice shape issued during his playing days would be candidates because of their age. But a 1990 Topps of the NFL’s all-time rushing leader, Emmitt Smith? Generally a $5-$10 card may not even command $25 graded Gem Mint.