Redline gear oil purchased from Amazon possibly counterfeit?

[John in Washington]

I just purchased 12 quart bottles of Red Line 50104 75W85 GL-5 Full Synthetic Gear Oil at a ridiculously cheap price from a third party seller off the Amazon website. I think it may have been either grossly mispriced or counterfeit. The stuff was about 1/4 the cost per quart as buying by a single quart. Is it possible that it is counterfeit oil repackaged with a Redline label? I have never given it much thought until now, but you couldn't buy discount gear oil for the same cost of this premium Redline (I don't want to debate) gear oil. This could be a case of 'If its is too good to be true, it probably is'.

Any thoughts on the subject.

 

[dnewton3]

My thoughts are that "yes", Amazon cheap products are certainly a risk of being counterfeit.
That's not an assurance, but definitely a possibility.
There are lots of YT videos with products which have been proven to be nefarious; spark plugs, filters, lubes, etc.

You can always check the lot/production numbers and then contact RL, but there's no assurance that the numbers weren't also faked (copied).
Another key criteria is to look at who the seller/retailer is. If a third party, are they a known/proven entity, or something you've never heard of?
If it's a third party, do they have a direct website where you can order direct and skip AMZ? Often these direct contacts can help you understand the validity of a product offering.

I've gotten to the point where I only buy stuff off AMZ which I would be willing to accept fakes. And if I get a genuine product, fine.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[Bob in Utah]

Just think if these scammers/conterfeiters put their knowledge towards something useful/ legal

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I wonder If Redline customer service would help verify if its legit? I think you can read the seller or store reviews if a 3rd party seller on Amazon?
I do buy lots of stuff on Amazon ( however, little to no car or motorcycle stuff ) but when I do buy Amazon I make sure Amazon is actually the seller as i'm not into that 3rd party stuff. I have never been burned but the wife did on some shirts or something.
I'll pay more but I buy all my Motorcycle Oil from J&P cycles and car / truck oil and filter in a store. dealer etc.

 

[zeroptzero]

I've used enough of the fluid I could recognize it by smell, it has a very unique odour, unlike that of Amsoil or any over the counter fluid. You could always send out a virgin oil sample once you get it. I would think the packaging for Redline Oil would be very hard to duplicate, their bottles and labeling is very unique. Make sure the tops of the bottles are sealed , along with the foil seal on the top of the bottle , the top seal for Redline is unique too.

 

[John in Washington]

I think I will call Redline customer service when I get the product in hand. The Amazon reviews for the Redline product were good. The reviews for the third party seller were mixed, either 5 star or 1 star. The bad reviews were mainly because of wrong product sent or failure to deliver. No complaints about counterfeit products.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[oldhp]

All of the Redline products I've bought all had a sealed aluminum top with a flip up tab to open it. Do your qt bottles have that?

 

[John in Washington]

I will check the seal. Thanks for the tip.

 

[tcp71]

FYI

T

Thread '12 quarts of Redline D4 for $55Cdn.'

Feb 17, 2026

I ordered a dozen. Lets see if I get them.

• tcp71
• Replies: 9
• Forum: Product Rebates, Sales and Promotions

• 

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Send it in for a VOA

 

[zeroptzero]

if you have not received the product yet I would be cautious, the advertisement seems a bit confusing. If you don't have it in hand I would be worried that you are not getting 12 bottles of it, the pricing is just out of whack if they are selling one bottle for one price and 12 bottles for just a bit more. The good thing with Amazon is you can send it back if you don't get what is promised.

 

[Hall]

Was it this one ? https://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-50124-Lightweight-12/dp/B005JVFBUY

It's definitely a pricing error and since it's a 3rd-party that's likely open M-F, I expect you'll be notified that the order is cancelled because of this mistake. They do NOT have to honor it if it's obviously wrong. Here's the same product on their direct website: https://autoplicity.com/215711-red-line-oil-red-line-lightweight-gear-oil-quart-case-12-bottles.

 

[spasm3]

I suspect pricing error. The company exists online, assuming the name is legit to the brick and mortar store.

You could call them and verify.

https://ibs-rvmarines.ca/search?opt...,vendor,product_type,variants.title&q=redline

 

[gman2304]

I’ve used the Redline Harley heavy transmission oil with shockproof from Amazon in my last 2 Harley’s but I’ve never used a third party seller. $22.88 a qt so I would be willing to bet you’ll receive 1 qt at an inflated price or nothing.

 

[AdmiralYoda]

When it comes to important things from Amazon I try to purchase directly from Amazon, not their 3rd party resellers. Not that Amazon themselves are immune to stocking counterfeit products but I tend to believe they "try" to be more honest than unknown third party resellers.

 

[Hall]

Not that Amazon themselves are immune to stocking counterfeit products but I tend to believe they "try" to be more honest than unknown third party resellers.

I'm not defending a company like Amazon (or Walmart, etc) but these companies are NOT buying and re-selling counterfeit anything. They buy directly from the manufacturer, not through multiple layers of middle-men or distributors.

 

[SOUNDMAN5000]

I'm not defending a company like Amazon (or Walmart, etc) but these companies are NOT buying and re-selling counterfeit anything. They buy directly from the manufacturer, not through multiple layers of middle-men or distributors.

The problem as I see it and the sites I have personal experience with is the Walmart website. Home Depot, Best Buy, eBay and yes Amazon as all these websites will show sometimes as the top search result a 3rd party offering from a 3rd party seller on that same Walmart website and Walmart or amazon checkout for that item one is searching for.

I personally think its kinda tricky as when one goes to the Walmart site you think Walmart is the actual seller when many time its not its 3rd party.

When this first started years back I was standing in line at the Walmart return desk and the lady in front of me was trying to return a 3rd party item she had purchased via the Walmart website. The Walmart staff had no idea how or even IF she could do a store return.

I would say you are correct that Amazon or Walmart is not directly buying and reselling counterfeit but many of those big box websites do, even for a time will allow a 3rd party to sell on that website and I suggest you may very well run into counterfeit items time to time.

When one uses these big box websites you must actually tell the website to not show 3rd party sellers.

 

[Hall]

I personally think its kinda tricky as when one goes to the Walmart site you think Walmart is the actual seller when many time its not its 3rd party.

I am only referring to goods sold directly by Amazon, Walmart, etc. I rarely even buy 3rd-party stuff from Amazon but sometimes it's the only option, so then it will depend on what item it is and if I want to risk it. Only downside is on Amazon with the co-mingling they do based on "identical" UPC or ASIN numbers of products. I'll admit, I don't look too often to see if 3rd-parties SELL the same item but have it shipped by Amazon. If they do, that introduces the possibility of getting counterfeits.

At least on Walmart, Home Depot, etc it's 100% obvious when it's sold by Walmart vs a 3rd-party. They don't co-mingle whatsoever, to my knowledge. By that, I've never seen "Sold by XXX, shipped by Walmart.com".

 

[John in Washington]

Back again. The purchase was through Amazon Marketplace and the order was to be filled by Autoplicity. Delivered by 3/17. The offer on Amazon looked a lot like the one that TCP71 posted earlier in the thread. It was pretty clear that it was 12 quart bottles of Red Line 50104 75W85 GL-5 Full Synthetic Gear Oil for about $45 US total. It even advertised the cost per ounce that was consistent with 12quarts. It was ridiculously cheap. The Amazon listing has since been taken down, I suspect it was an error. The credit card has been charged. It would be great if it came through. I can use all the oil in a couple of vehicles. All four wheel drive with two big diffs. If it is not delivered or counterfeit, I will of course ask for a refund from Amazon, and then the credit card company if all that fails I am only out $45 which, in this day and age, is chump change. I will probably waste more time and energy than that straightening things out. I hate having to wait until the delivery date is missed to reorder oil. I suspect it will be "Damaged in Shipment" or "Out of Stock". I will post the final results.

 

[tcp71]

In my amazon account it still shows as coming, but late.

I received my refund a day after I placed the order and I received this at the same time: