Sh*t. Just found this thread after being directed here from a fellow forumite. My timeline:
June 3: sent ~$650 via paypal for a batch of knives.
June 15: hadn't shipped yet, so I asked him to temporarily hold off due to the Canadian postal strike at the time.
June 30: strike ends, I give Ricky the ok to ship
July 2: Ricky replies apologizing for delay due to a car accident in the family.
July 10-19: repeated emails sent to Ricky asking for shipping status - no reply.
July 20: open paypal claim; Ricky replies within MINUTES. Calls me, convinces me to close paypal claim.
Aug 5:Called Ricky, he picks up, tells me the knives had shipped "on Wednesday", and will email me the tracking info shortly.
Aug 6-24: no further contact from Ricky via email/phone
Aug 25: Ricky emails, says he had the knives ready to ship in his car(told me he had shipped 3 weeks ago!). I gave him the benefit of the doubt in case I had heard him wrong on the 5th. Assures me he will send "by 4PM" the next day.
Present: No contact since.