Cheap is the most important factor. I am not going to have a daily carry knife that costs over $100 to replace. If I lose it or break it, I don't want to be without a knife for awhile. Country of origin doesn't matter much to me. I have Benchmade knives that were made in China that work fine. For a harder use knife, my standards of cost can drastically change but not always.
Like most so far, I prefer not to have a liner lock. However, it is getting harder and harder to find a quality knife that uses back or proprietary locks while keeping them inexpensive.
I don't like foolish names on my knives. I don't care what they call their knife on the package but it doesn't need to be stamped on it. I passed on a S&W shelf knife tonight because it said "ExtremeOps" on the blade. I just want something to sit in my pocket for when I need it doing menial tasks.