Last I looked at his website, Samar actually has the original ribbons and can do a proper replacement. His price seemed very reasonable to me.
However, I have re-ribboned a M500 myself, and tho it was very difficult, the mic sounds pretty good now. Of course, I did not do it with the original ribbon material as Mark can, but just used some 1.8 micron foil, and used the top of a medicine bottle to give the ribbon some texture. It sounds surprisingly good, and I'm very happy with the results. I was encouraged by another member of this forum who said he tried it and succeeded.
These are great mics! It's worth whatever you do to get it up and running.