It was Mercia Tapping's own lonely journey to health that propelled her to found AllergyBuyersClub.com, an Internet vertical portal site for allergy, asthma and sinus sufferers.  The site provides members with unique, valuable content, the opportunity to be involved in an active community, and access to discounts on allergy and asthma related products, both directly from the allergy buyers club and a network of vendors across the web.

The Allergy Buyers Club offers members "Consumer Reports" style testing and independent reviews of allergy related consumer products.

People always ask Tapping, a seasoned entrepreneur how she got the idea for this business. In 1995, Tapping was starting to get desperate. She had woken up with a crashing headache over a ten-year period, was addicted to as she puts it "some pretty heavy duty painkillers," and nobody seemed to know  the cause. As Tapping tells the story" I went to eighteen different doctors, all swore they knew what was wrong. One dentist told me my bite was misaligned and gave me a mouth plate to wear for 6 months, not exactly convenient when you talk on the phone a lot or give public presentations."

Another wanted to grind her molars down which Tapping politely refused. The last straw came when one doctor suggested anti-depressant medication.  At that point, Tapping was starting to lose faith in the medical profession, "I had just met the man I was eventually going to marry and I couldn't have been happier, and now someone was suggesting I was depressed! I was on top of the world, but I still had headaches." It was Mercia's husband, Dr. Herman Lowe, a clinical psychologist, who came to the rescue. "He told me I was one of the least depressed people he knew, but he had noticed that when we went away to the mountains or beach, I always woke up with a clear head. He then said something that sounded nuts. He suggested that I might be allergic to my house." 

This was the beginning to the end of the story. Dr #19 confirmed that Tapping indeed had numerous environmental allergies, not the least of which was to mold in her lovely Victorian house that Tapping had lovingly restored, and allergic even to her three beloved Siamese cats. Determined not to give away her cats, Tapping embarked on a mission to see what she could do about her allergies, without reaching
for medication all the time.  She summarizes a two year odyssey of product research as follows, "After having wasted hundreds if not thousands of dollars on useless products that promised miracle cures, I finally found products that helped me feel better." As for the house and the cats? Mercia had to
sell her house, which in retrospect she says, "was the smartest thing I ever did, although I wept all moving day."  And the fate of the cats?  "I no longer have them on the bed at night, but that seems a small price to pay after all I have been through."  Tapping's own allergies have been reduced to a few sneezes, and the very occasional sinus headache.

Emboldened by her own experience Tapping abandoned a lucrative practice doing management consulting to major corporations and set out to conquer the brave new world of the Internet.  As Tapping sees it the most compelling reason for the development of an allergy portal site is there isn't one. As she explains "the allergy, asthma and sinus market is fragmented, filling the needs of its constituents in a haphazard fashion. There are information providers, product vendors, email discussion lists related to allergies. No-one is bringing it together in one place". 

When an allergy sufferer leaves their doctors office with their diagnosis they are often non the wiser as to what products to purchase to alleviate their suffering other than medication.  Sometimes, they come across some allergy catalogues but many of the featured products sound like one step away from snake oil and people rightfully question "why didn't my doctor tell me about this stuff,if it is so good?" 
Recommending information about allergy products, for the most part, is an area that is avoided by physicians. As Mercia explains it, "Doctors do not have the time to do the research on consumer products, and figure out which HEPA vacuum is really the best or which kind of air filter is most
effective."

The Allergy Buyers Club offers members "Consumer Reports" style testing and independent reviews of allergy related consumer products.  It also offers rock bottom pricing on products to members through strategic alliances with other web based and off the web merchants and some direct product
offerings of its own.  It gives members a way to share with each other their own ratings of products, based on their own personal experiences. The e-commerce part of the site Tapping believes is revolutionary. "Where else can you browse through an "honest catalogue" which tells you both the
pluses and minuses of what you are purchasing?"  This is where Mercia believes the Allergy Buyers Club can make a significant contribution. 

Focus groups revealed that the equivalent of a "Good Housekeeping ''seal of approval, would be something greatly welcomed by allergy sufferers and reputable vendors alike. The Allergy Buyers Club web-site brings together both systematic, independent product testing and the informal testing that has been done by thousands of consumers in their own homes.  Mercia Tapping believes this knowledge should be shared among the allergy community.  Subscription to The Allergy Buyers Club is free . 

A sweepstakes entry for every time a member participates in some way in the community. As Tapping puts it "We want to get the ball rolling, so we'll reward people for sending in tips, recipes articles, and putting in their product ratings in "The Peoples Choice" .The Allergy Buyers Club will be supported primarily by corporate sponsorships and e-commerce.  Discussions are already underway with corporate sponsors but

Tapping declined to reveal their identity. Allergy Buyers Club is also looking for investor partners and is looking for "significant investment dollars".  Tapping predicts that allergybuyers.com will be the next mothernature.com and provide a similar investment opportunity.  For those who are interested in the site visit, http://www.allergybuyersclub.com. 

Editors can obtain more information by contacting Mercia Tapping, President at mjt@mediaone.net or 617-969-3148.
 

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