I am still not sure if I got a knockoff pair of shoes, or if Etnies just has extremely poor standards for manufacturing quality. There are lose threads, blemishes that won't come off, unfinished seams, misaligned sole and vulcanized wrapper. These look and feel like a knockoff product.
I've emailed Etnies with pictures and am waiting to see if I can get a proper product from them. My brother has a pair of Maranas and says they don't suffer from any of these quality problems, so maybe your experience will be a good one. Maybe it's luck of the draw.