I don't want to beat this into the ground, but I want to clarify it a little more. The other day I visited a friend who has a walk-in humidor in his house. He has everything from JFRs and Camachos to Padrons and Cubans. Every box he gets in, he takes the cigars out of the box and places them in trays. He says this allows them to age better than leaving them in boxes.
I'm confused, do the cigars not age as good if left in the boxes?
Really... You can not go wrong either way. Leave them in box or put them in trays. However, I am a big fan of leaving them in boxes, Why? Because, I feel that the company puts them in boxes that they feel is going to be the best way for their cigars to age. Its kind of like, getting whiskey, would you pour it out and put it in a different container to let it age? No that would be silly because the bottle it comes in is what makes the Whiskey unique from other whiskeys. I know that may of not been a good example. A better one maybe, same way with the cellophane on some of the cigars, I choose to keep mine in the cellophane because thats what makes that cigar "different" as well as the way the people that are producing the cigar feels is the best way to keep a particular cigar at its best.
I am not saying your friend is wrong about taking the cigars out of the box and placing them on trays, but If it were me, I keep them in the box. Its just a matter of how I think. If the cigar company did not want you to use their boxes, then they would of put them in zip lock bags. There is a reason for everything at every step of the way in the cigar making business. my .02
David