Darrell,
I know we all have different priorities when it comes to binoculars, but I do believe you may be fixing on a minor problem as a litmus test. I don't think your particular pair of FL's was defective for the reasons you've described. The FL is just not the best at masking glare from the edge of the objective. However, it's really not much worse than most other binoculars and this is a very occasional problem, seen only under very specific lighting conditions. I also noticed this reflection in my first days of using the FL, but I didn't consider it significant and after two years I haven't changed my mind. Far more important to me is that the 8x42 FL represents the state of the art in several major optical categories like light transmission, color accuracy, freedom from chromatic aberration and center of the field sharpness. You may find that you prefer the Swarovski 8.5x42 EL (an excellent binocular overall) but, IMO, it's not quite as good as the Zeiss in any the above categories. BTW, I can see some glare through my EL's under the same lighting conditions that cause it in the FL. The reasons are the same, an unbaffled objective edge, but there is somewhat less visible glare in the EL than the FL. I know it seems reasonable to expect total perfection from binoculars that cost $1500-2000, but I have yet to see it.
Henry