Store

New logo for the xkcd store

For a list of comics featured on xkcd merch, see Comics with xkcd store products.

The xkcd store is available at https://store.xkcd.com. On 2026-08-21, the store officially re-opened to the public. It was announced with the header text "THE XKCD STORE IS BACK!"

History

Creation

Original logo for the xkcd store

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2022 closure

In 2022, the xkcd store was shut down due to supply chain issues. On 2022-04-06, when asked about its closure, Matthew Smoot, the "xkcd order wrangler", said in an email to a customer: "Unfortunately the store is closed indefinitely due to supply chain issues >_<. As soon as things with the new book are more settled we hope to be able to give the store the attention it needs, but Randall is completely focused on book stuff for the time being."

The last day it can be found on the web archive was 2022-01-25. The link to the store from the links sections on xkcd disappeared 2022-01-29.

The next archived version from 2022-01-31 shows the following text:

The xkcd store

Will be opening soon...

Enter store using password:

A password can be entered and there is an "Enter" button.

This stayed like this until 2022-10-06. That is the last saved version in the archive. The page seems to have been completely deleted after that, so there is no longer anything to save.

Several other changes happened to the links on 2022-01-31. That date is also the release day of the What If? 2 book, and of the comic 2575: What If? 2. Most likely the shop completely shut down on that day.

Relaunch

Around 2025-08, the page was reactivated with a brand new design and it no longer showed a browser error. Initially, the xkcd store remained closed and was only accessible using password, but it allowed users to sign up to receive an email to be notified when it reopened. While the wording is similar to the version from 2022-01-31, the design was completely different:

Opening soon

Be the first to know when we launch.

On August 12, 2026, the xkcd store was reopened for limited early access. Users who had signed up to be notified when the store returned (see #Relaunch) received an email with the following text:

xkcd shop

You're getting this email because at some point you signed up to be notified when the xkcd store returned. Well, the chain of events that you set in motion on that fateful day has now led inexorably to this moment, to your reading this email letting you know that the xkcd store has returned in limited early access.

To check it out, go to store.xkcd.com. Click "Enter using password" and enter the following password:

incorrect-deer-capacitor-glue

The new store features classic xkcd shirts, stickers, and posters, along with a few new designs. Check it out!

—[email protected]

The regular comic mailing list also received a similar notice with the same password:

The xkcd store has returned, with a variety of shirts, stickers, and posters! You can check it out in limited early access at store.xkcd.com. Click "Enter using password" and use the password incorrect-deer-capacitor-glue.

This password, which was the same for everyone on the mailing list, is a reference to 936: Password Strength, with a very similar format to the password in that comic, correct-horse-battery-staple.

Sometime during early September 2026, the xkcd store was reopened for public access, no longer requiring a password.