What high-grade examples have you seen where CGC gave one of these "safe" grades to a book with a tear? I haven't seen many at all myself. I did a search yesterday in the forums on the word "tear" and found dozens of threads asking this same question, how do you downgrade for a tear, and found zero examples of CGC slabs with tears other than the ones posted here. Giving out "safe" lowball grades is far, FAR more common in this forum than it is in Sarasota...it's easy to bolster a reputation as a tight grader when you don't have paying customers. Every time I see somebody CLEARLY lowball a grade in this forum so that they can just think to themselves "I'm a tighter grader than CGC!" (and I'm not implying that's what's happened in this thread, downgrading for tears is tough), it makes me want to smack the mess out of them.
Don't know who you are referring to but since I'm a seller I'll respond if for nothing else than to add some discussion:
I had a Thrilling #70 for sale a few months ago that I listed as an 8.0/8.5 a while back and I noted a 1/2" tear. I just measured it...it's 11mm long so I guess that makes it more like a 3/8" tear. I know that sounds funny to analyze it that closely but I think the length of the tear determines the grade. I erred on the high side with my guesstimate but my book was also higher grade to start with....maybe 9.2-9.4. On this book (the Planet) it looks like a genuine 1/2" tear, hence my guesstimate of 7.5.