Yes they have been shortened and one of the rockers looks like it was damaged too !! You can see the cut marks where someone took a knife and tried to reshape them !! This style furniture was not popular after its production time was over !! You can still find it at flea markets and thrift stores pretty cheap !! However,, your price was right and you might put a little work into it and have a comfortable rocker !! Recovering these is pretty easy but the springs under the seat are the pits to work with !! They are usually the band type that run side to side !!