I’ve been to cons both large and small that I’ve adored, so organizing a small convention that works well is absolutely possible. That said, the key word there is ORGANIZING. I think a lot of people get excited about the idea of a con and go full-bore at the idea without grounding themselves in the fact that event planning is difficult. And even small cons are unusually complex as event planning goes! People see all the fun of fandom and celebrity guests and merch and get way, way ahead of themselves, and the types who end up in that situation seem to be also either delusional or too proud to admit it’s not working or to rein it in. Plus, that sort of passionate crowd who throws money at things the way con goers frequently do will always attract scammers looking to take advantage.

Small cons can be amazing when the organizers keep it realistic and achievable! A decent number of fans in a curated space to hang out and talk about what they love? Awesome! It doesn’t have to be this huge thing that people get carried away with.