Some very questionable blends you have there. Use these to learn how to cut, light, draw, and generally learn how to smoke a cigar, then move up from here. The Ron Mexico for example is made as a joke cigar and is absolutely horrible. The others I am not at all familiar with. If there is a tip that helped me most in this hobby when starting out it was this: Smoking cigars is not a cheap hobby. If you try to make it one, you're really just scratching the surface of the enjoyment you can get from cigars.
Boveda: https://www.amazon.com/Boveda-65-Percentage-Individually-Wrapped-Humidity/dp/B00FWPQ8WC
Hello /u/epitome59. Welcome to the sub.
Seasoning a desktop humidor takes time, up to two weeks. So first thing is to be patient. Having it at 60 after 2 days is not bad.
To help the process, get some distilled water. Dip your finger in it and run it along the seal of the lid. The lid is the most common spot for a leak. As the water is absorbed, it will slightly swell the lid and better seal it.
Is the humidor a glasstop model? If so, there might be gaps between the glass and the wood which could also cause the humidity to leak out. To fix this, get some aquarium sealant or low/no odor caulk and put a bead of it around the glass on the inside of the humidor. This will prevent any current and future leaks.
You are correct to leave the cigars out of the humidor until it is properly seasoned. If you haven't already, place the cigars in a ziplock bag. It would be best to get a Boveda Pack to place in the zip lock.
Once seasoned, humidity between 65-70 is best. 75% is too high and could lead to mold. The preferred humidification method is Boveda Packs as they are very low maintenance.
I think I got all of your questions, let me know if I missed anything or if you have any followup questions.
Good luck.
If I had $70 I would do a build your own sampler. Invite some friends over and burn through them.
https://www.cigarsinternational.com/p/build-your-own-mega-sampler/2010403/
My choices would be
HC Series Maduro2 Robusto
Diesel Unlimited d.X
Romeo y Julieta Vintage #7.5
Rocky Patel ITC Limited Reserve Bear
You're also going to want to store them somewhere. For an additional $16 on Amazon you can get this and this
You can store them under your bed. That boveda should last you a couple months. After that you can either buy a new one, or spend $1 on a gallon of distilled water. Soak your boveda for a few days until the hard chunks inside are gone and you're ready to go again.
Yes you can, just pack them in an airtight bag and in a sturdy box, make sure they don't "rattle around" and put one of these in the bag: https://www.amazon.com/Boveda-65-Percentage-Individually-Wrapped-Humidity/dp/B00FWPQ8WC/ref=sr_1_8_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1530903447&sr=8-8&keywords=boveda+65%25&dpID=41NwaU2V61L&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
And yeah, you can get them online, I'm in Northern Europe tho, so I'm not too familiar with overseas sellers, but this subreddit has a decent list of good sellers and coupon codes for them here: https://www.reddit.com/r/cigars/wiki/deals
I'm sure most if not all of these sellers also sell Boveda packs like the Amazon link.
Congrats on your new humidor. For your questions I would suggest.
1. Use Boveda packs as they are a set and forget humidification system and replace them when they become hard like a brick. Never used Heartfelt Beads before so can't say much on that end.
2. Go with a digital hygrometer vs. a analog one as they tend to be less reliable. Be sure to calibrate them when you first receive it and every so often. A few options are Cigar Oasis, Govee or a 3-Pack for each level if you're OCD like me.
3. I find that cigars are best kept at 65°F / 65% relative humidity (RH) for me. YMMV.
4. Be sure to post pics after your seasoned it and have it loaded with your cigars. Enjoy!
Please note, private sales of tobacco are forbidden via reddit's ToS. So arranging a sale via this subreddit isn't possible.
Some info...
1) The USA has an embargo against Cuban products, including cigars, so cuban cigars can't be imported legally there. Both Cuba and the USA manufacture cigars under the Romeo Y Julieta brand, the box you have is cuban and it looks like it was actually bought in cuba based on the MINSAP sticker.
2) Cigars need to be stored at a correct humidity, around 65%, otherwise they dry out, those in aluminium tubes will keep longer and better outside of a humidor but they are not completely air tight. If you're trying to sell them, their condition will matter to the buyer. Your best bet is to buy a boveda pack from amazon
Take the cigars out of their tubes, put them into a clean airtight tupperware container with the boveda pack inside, leave them for a few months. This will get them back up to their correct humidity. They can incidentally be stored indefinitely like this.
I recommend the 9.6 cup Rubbermaid Brilliance and 2x 60g 65%rH Boveda humidity packs. This will hold in the neighborhood of 30 smokes depending on sizes. It is a far simpler and more reliable method to store a few smokes and should come in aprox. $25 US. Amazon has the packs for $5.99 each and the container for $12.99.
Trash that thing and just pick up this
Does Amazon deliver there? If so, order this guy, and if your stogies arrive before this does, put them in the aforementioned heavy-duty freezer bag:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boveda-65-Percent-Individually-Wrapped-Humidity/dp/B00FWPQ8WC/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=boveda+65+10+pack&qid=1607453969&sr=8-6
Honestly, there isn't much.
You're gonna be better off adding some more storage.
Buy a Boveda
And a lock n lock
(or get a much bigger one)
A boveda in one of those will pretty much last for a couple years and the only limit to how much you can store is the size of the lock n lock (there are bigger 12l ones which I use)
Get a mason jar and put a boveda pack in it to keep the humidity at 65% https://www.amazon.com/Boveda-65-Percentage-Individually-Wrapped-Humidity/dp/B00FWPQ8WC
I think a good tuppador setup is a Sterilite 20 Qt Air Tight Storage Tote with some large 65% Bovedas and some cedar cigar trays, along with a digital hygro. The cedar trays are completely unnecessary but just nice to have for organization and easy access.
Or check out cheap humidors if you want a wooden one. I think they have a discount code floating around here somewhere.
People have already suggested starting with tupperware style food containers. Just don't forget to throw one of these in - http://www.amazon.com/Boveda-65-Percentage-Individually-Wrapped-Humidity/dp/B00FWPQ8WC/