It will never leave the shop. A large built-in which is in the finishing stage was constructed entirely without any trial and error cuts. Every once in a while, sort of like pinching myself, I'll measure a piece fresh from the tablesaw to see if it's the right size. Certainly, this technique might not be favorable to all woodworkers. Hobbyists might like the 'artistic unpredictability' of their woodworking and might reject this attempt to bring a small portion of machine-like precision into their shop.
Success is keyed to getting the proper number of similar tape measures.
My experience with the Stanley 16's might be highly unusual and there are no guarantees you'll find another box like I did. It also might be prevalent that a carton of tapes from any manufacturer will yield several similar tapes. It could be that Starrett, Lufkin and Craftsman all work the same way. If you aren't very lucky you can always take them back. In my mind, tape measures which don't align are defective.