I contacted the company and they gladly replaced and had them rushed to me for a special occasion. The source of my frustration was simply operator error. This felt like being barefoot, I have plantar fasciitis and when I?m working out doing lunges my feet would ache due to regular shoe arches. Try with confidence! I know this isnt a very expensive product but I also dont expect every slat to have gouges and scratches. They run a little big, but they are VERY comfortable. I have newports that frankly have never felt comfortable. Unfortunately, I had to send it back. I have tried multiple products including the much more expensive models thats 3 times of the cost and I still like this model more. When I use it on my laptop, it comes up with "Pro X" or some-such.