figaro

My wife and I and my 4 girls have been feeding a baby grey that we agreed to do for $300 or we could deduct the $ from the cost of the parrot if we decided to keep it. Well, we have fallen in love with the bird and it is almost weaned. (The individual who asked us if we would like to do this knew we had successfully raised a brood of cockatiels). I have checked the internet and congo african grey prices for Louisiana and have found quite a range on hand-fed/weaned parrots. I shared with this individual that I had found prices as low as $300 and a pet store in Baton Rouge has one for $1,350. Generally, prices seem to range from $500-$900. I am looking for some feedback from those in the know. We want to buy the bird, but we also want to pay a fair price. We still haven't heard back from him and that was last Friday. One other thing. The bird has no band on it as it was given to us right at 2 weeks old and the owner did not band it and we didn't know any better. Does this make the bird less valuable??? Thanks for any input on this. Figaro