[dj_wildthing]

hmmm, good question. I only think factory seconds are shoes made with minor flaws, like for instance bad stitching or maybe incorrect assemby (in lack of better words). The materials should be the same as 1st grade shoes, so if the stripes and tongue are peeling I doubt it's because they're only seconds, so they might be fakes after all. That said, they do look extremely good for being a pair of fakes. I guess the number of stitches might also vary depending on size. I checked my own DMCs (size UK 11) and they do have 14 'full' stitches as the rest of my anniversary SS. Also, since you mentioned even the tissue paper looked different and the fact that the seller didn't mind giving you a refund might indicate that these are fakes after all. And, last but not least, I haven't heard of any shops selling factory seconds of any of the limited 35th models.

Anyway, it seems you have some fakes that look good enough to be real and you got them for free, so just rock these babies hard!