I can't say I am too surprised. For anyone in the market for a new chess set - I can warn against The Chess Store. While their sets are usually of a high quality, the photos on their website are old and they have since switched manufacturers. The new manufacturers sets DO NOT match the images anymore. I found this out the hard way. The inconsistent pieces you've experienced may be a direct result of this.
If you shop The Chess Store, ask for custom images of the actual set you're interested in. Not their phony website photos. Otherwise you may get a bit of a surprise.
I bought a set from them a couple of weeks ago that had two cracked pawns. They immediately sent out replacements that were the wrong size. When I called, they said they were out of stock and would be receiving more sets from India with two weeks. When I tried to follow up today I found that their phone is no longer in service. Anybody know what's going on? Thanks.