Whether you stick with the wood or not is your decision, but I'd be pretty annoyed that I didn't get what I ordered. As for the finishing issue, it couldn't be any simpler. Cut your strips, then run them through the table saw to finish the rough edge and cut them to a consistent width. Be sure to use featherboards to keep them tight against the fence on both the infeed and outfeed sides. If you're just taking a fine cut off the edges, there won't be any off-cut, so you can us a featherboard on the outfeed side with no problems.