Were the bars shipped to you by container or were they flown?
I was wondering if it was possible for the bars to have been abused during transit. Perhaps they suffered multiple impacts in the same place rattling around in a big can with a bunch of other stuff while transiting a quarter of the globe.
Naturally, crap material and craftsmanship are possibilities too.

We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind.
- Stu Harmon