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Red flags: If I notice grammar or spelling errors, I don't bother reading the sample. I don't read blurbs with a proofreader's eye, and I don't mind dramatic sentence fragments, but if I wince at all over the blurb text, I assume I'll be too busy noticing errors to enjoy the book.
Blurbs that talk about the author, unless it's to mention their previous publishing career. "Has written a bestselling SF thriller" is worth a mention to me; "is an architect with an interest in polymer construction materials" is not.
Blurbs in second person, aimed at the reader: "You will read the amazing adventures of..." No, I won't.
Heavy on the hype adjectives (terrific, astounding, wonderful); lacking in info about characters or the plot.
Not fond of blurbs that end in a question.
A bad cover won't turn me off entirely, but the bar for the text goes way up. I don't have a problem reading self-pub works by amazing authors, but if they can't be bothered to figure out the rules for good covers, they probably aren't farming out any of the other tasks either--like editing.
Some authors are good enough that they don't need editors. (Not, "wouldn't be improved by them." Everyone could use a beta pass.) Some authors write concise prose and taut storylines and clever characters without needing a second pair of eyes. And some know how to get their works edited without getting a cover designed--after all, authors tend to know editors; they don't always know graphic design specialists. But if the cover is awful, the blurb and sample have to be absolutely amazing--I have to be *hooked* from the first page, or I don't bother looking at it again.
Price over $6 for a self-pub book. Especially anything less than 60,000 words. I wouldn't say that's "never," but it's going to be rare. Price over $3 for a short story of less than 30k words. While I'll grant there are some amazing short stories out there... there's a lot of amazing fanfic out there, too; I can read 3k-8k word fanfiction for *weeks* and not run out. I generally don't download them because it's too much hassle to get them onto the reader... the same applies, even moreso, for ebooks I have to pay for.
Misogyny, slut-shaming or homophobia in the blurb. I'd add "racism," but that's rare enough that it hasn't been a red-flag issue.
Anything advertising Christian themes, overtly or not. This is entirely personal bias. I'm sure there are many wonderful books with Christian themes; I don't need to read them. I've read enough to know that if I can spot the signs in the blurb, the book will come across as heavy-handed preaching to me.
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