I have looked at those a few times as I kind of like super tiny knives. One of my favorites was always an Opinel #1 which many people mistakenly thought was a cigarette butt that I kept sticking in my pocket!
As for the issues with the finish, I wouldn't be overly pleased myself, but given the number of them that you purchased, and the percentage that have problems, my guess would be that it's a standard thing, and common to many, if not all of them. Additionally, MOP and Abalone (as any decent git-fiddle player like yourself should know!) is a pain to work with, and for the cost of these little knives, I don't know if I would have expected too much.
That having been said, AG has built his business on customer service. I'd strongly suggest sending the pics in to someone there and discussing the problem with them.
Def