Customer paid a deposit, but...

A Canadian customer of mine paid a non-fundable deposit in February for some 2012 rosies and asked me to hold them until he could choose several more from my 2013 litters and so he wouldn't have to pay additional shipping and import fees on a second shipment.
I told him I would hold them until the fall(as rosies are usually born between early August and Early Oct.)
Well, for the last 4 weeks I've been trying to contact him thru email and thru PM on this site, to no avail. I do not have his phone number or any other contact info.
My question is, how much longer should I hold the rosies he paid a deposit for? Or, is my promise to him fulfilled?
Thx,
-JC

Well a good idea would have been to make clear on when you were going to hold them to. Should have told him that you need the rest of the payment by a certain date and stick to it. When someone wants to place an animal on hold i will usually hold it for 4-6 weeks before that animal goes back up for sale. I make clear in the conversation before any transactions are done and i stick to it. If someone is doing a payment plan they put a deposit down and have 3 months to pay it off and can not miss a payment on the due date of that month. If you have been contacting him for a whole month and no answer then i would say thats grounds to relist your animals and get them sold and keep the deposit. You could always refund him the deposit but you also dont want word getting around that's the way you operate because people will take advantage of it. Hope this helps. Thanks.

If you check his profile here, when did he last log in? If he has "friends" listed, have you PM'ed them to see if they have a phone number or physical address for him?

Long shot, but have you tried googling his username? Many people use the same one across multiple forums.

If he used Paypal to send you a deposit, try refunding him $1 to put him on notice that you are trying to contact him.
I would try some creative ways to contact him, Melinda had good suggestions. There is a very large site 'Reptiles Canada' perhaps he is on there?
Trying and documenting some creative ways to make contact would serve to show that you have gone above and beyond in your attempts to contact.
The first day of Fall was September 22 for both the US and Canada, so after a few more tries using creative methods, I think you have fulfilled your promise to hold them until the fall.

Contact him again using all means you have. Give him a deadline to respond to you, and then move on if he doesn't. A week or so would be more than generous. There's only so much you can do, and to be fair you DID hold those animals so that deposit is yours. Offer a credit on future animals if it makes you feel better about the situation.

IF he has been visiting the site (as shown by the last visit date/time seen on his profile), send him a very clear PM reminding him that it is now fall, and you would like him to complete his transaction. Set a deadline, and request that he contact you to work out the final details. *Before submitting the message, scroll down to the Additional Options box & click the box for Request a read receipt for this message. It isn't as good as certified mail, but it will confirm that your message was received.

It might be worth trying a facebook search, as well (even if you don't use facebook)

On the positive side of things, enough time has passed that PayPal won't mess with you...but, if he used a credit card, he may still be able to get a refund (regardless of your "nonrefundable deposit" policy).

Thanks for all the replies. I tried almost every suggestion...again to no avail.
Oh well. His loss will be someone else's gain.
-JC