Instead of refusing old TVs, he posted a sign: "No TV is too old. If we can't fix it, we'll recycle it for free." People brought in 15-year-old CRTs. He couldn't always fix them, but he earned their trust. And when they finally decided to buy a new TV, they didn't go to Amazon. They came back to Rajiv.
Rajiv realized something powerful:
Customers walked in, stared at the 4K QLED screens, then pulled out their phones. "Bhaiya, Amazon pe yeh 5,000 rupaye sasta hai," they would say, before leaving. The big brands had stopped sending spare parts for older models. The younger generation wanted "smart" features, not just a good picture tube. apne tv biz
So, Rajiv didn't try to compete with Amazon's prices. Instead, he transformed the apne TV biz into something the giants couldn't touch.
Rajiv had inherited "Sharma Electronics" from his father, a small shop wedged between a chai stall and a sari emporium in old Delhi. For thirty years, the business had a simple rhythm: sell a TV, fix a TV, repeat. But now, the world had changed. Instead of refusing old TVs, he posted a
Amazon gives a one-year manufacturer warranty. Rajiv gave a three-year "Sharma Electronics Warranty." It meant: "If your dog chews the remote, I'll replace it. If the software glitches at 10 PM, call me. I live upstairs."
Within six months, the shop changed. People weren't just buying TVs; they were buying a relationship. A young mother came in because her toddler had broken the HDMI port. A college student came because he couldn't cast his lecture to the screen. A grandfather came because he forgot how to switch from "HDMI 1" to "HDMI 2." And when they finally decided to buy a
When an elderly couple came in, confused by the "Smart TV" jargon, Rajiv didn't just hand them a remote. He went to their home that evening. He connected the TV to their Wi-Fi, showed them how to say "YouTube" into the voice remote, and set the font size to large. He became the "TV Guru."