Well, in the absence of pix, it's of course rather hard to speculate. I've been focusing a lot on growing those types of peppers recently, along with Sandias and Suharos. Anaheims, as you say, should be glossy and hard - with a thick, shiny skin that you'd normally want to roast off because it's too tough/shiny to eat. Big Jims, though, they can be softer (although not "felt like"). It sounds like there's maybe something wrong - see if you can post a few pics and we'll take it from there. Also ... taste them and see what you think!