I received these shoes the other day, and they're great, but I'm writing to encourage others to be sure to adjust the straps carefully and take a few minutes to flex the sole by hand before deciding they're not for you.

Strangely enough, even though the size is a perfect fit, I found that the strap adjustments are not intuitive at all.  Generally speaking, I have a wide foot (10W) and have to cinch the ankle and widen at the toes.  Not so with these!  I actually had to cinch a good bit at the toe, loosen the front of the ankle as far as it would go, and then cinch again just a bit at the backstrap.  But having done so, it's a perfect fit.

The other thing I did, upon finding that the footbed is really, really hard and stiff, was to google "how to break in birkenstocks" and found that a number of people advise manually flexing the footbed with their hands a few times.  I did that, though perhaps not as gently as suggested, and it helped a LOT with comfort.

If you're as new to Birkenstocks as I am, try these things before you send them back.  You'll be glad you did!

***Also, a note on color: I ordered and received the Cocoa Nubuck, but it is not a red brown as pictured, just a regular old brown.  Kind of disappointing after seeing the lovely rich reddish brown color in the picture... but not disappointing enough to send them back.  Though if I had bought them for color alone, they would indeed be winging their way back to Amazon right now.  Just so you know.

February 5, 2013 -- UPDATED TO ADD: I really found the color blah and boring, as I mentioned above, and the more I looked at them the more I hated them, actually.  But $3.00 and a bottle of Angelus Suede Dye later, they're an absolutely gorgeous rich deep red.  I also added some cheap copper bling from the beading section at Walmart to match the buckles, and now you'd never know how plain and blah they once were.

One hint: if you've never dyed suede, google it thoroughly before you try.  It's very easy but there are definitely tricks to it, and if you don't wear gloves and you don't tape off the cork, you will have a permanently ruined shoe.  Follow the instructions to the letter, from people who have done it, and you'll be amazed at the results.  I was!!!