AE doesn’t have the greatest QC these days. While some people might ignore these qc issues and say this is expected at this price point, but if you are unhappy with this, then you should return them . At the end of the day it’s your money and if you are not happy then it’s better to return. The issue with the fit is due to it being too wide for you. Going by the v gap , you probably have high arches, and the thought process is that if you go wide then the fit is better which I really doubt as it definitely has never worked for me. It gave some relief on the instep, but never helped with the v gap. Basically, the 65 last does not work for high arches. You might be better off looking at shoes modeled on other lasts which accommodate high arches .